Boy Next Door
by Eman1314
Summary: Natsu had never had much luck with girls, and Lucy hadn't had the chance to meet people. When these two oddities find themselves living beside each other, things begin to get a little crazy. Who knew the fighting-spirited boy and the pretty blonde girl could create their own love story? Very bad summary, sorry. :P
1. Chapter 1

Light had long since given away to darkness as the black limo rolled into the small town of Magnolia. The beautiful sleeping blonde in the back seat was awoken by the sound of her escort's voice informing her that they had passed the town line. The girl blinked sleepily, her brain slowly processing his words. When they finally hit her, she moved towards the window and stared out at her new town, but couldn't hide the disappointment on her face. She had already known that Magnolia was no Crocus, and that it was 80% agriculture, but she was still disappointed when all she could see was miles and miles of land. There was an occasional house situated along the road, but as unappeaing as it looked in the dark, she was nearly positive the light would suit it no better. She cringed and pulled away from the glass, huffing her disappointment. The man in the driver seat glanced back at the girl and gave her a sympathetic smile through the rear view window. She assumed his eyes were sad too, but she couldn't see them with his dark shades. She tried to return his reassuring look, but knew she was failing and decided to give up the pretences. It's not like he'd believe her anyway; he'd only been taking care of her since she was a tot.

"We're going to die here, Capricorn. We will starve to death because there will be no grocery store to feed us, and we will have to resort to hunting, and I will be killed by some rat because I'm no good at that," she rambled, only half joking. She knew that there were stores here, and she sure as hell wasn't going to have 'died to rat' written on her tombstone. She was fairly sure, however, that she would die of complete and utter boredom. Maybe the rat would be more merciful.

"Always the over dramatic one, aren't we Miss Lucy," Capricorn replied with humor, amused by his charge's antics. "I hope you haven't forgotten that you'll be moving in with your Grandfather and Cousin," he reminded her gently, watching as she sighed nervously. The last time she'd seen her Grandfather and Cousin had been just over 11 years ago when she was at a young age of five. She didn't remember much from that day, but she was nearly positive that she had somehow managed to spill a bowl of salsa on her cousin's head, tripped and dragged her Grandfather into the creek with her, and nearly burnt down the kitchen. Her mother and her used to laugh at it, but now she was without the older blonde and the exchange didn't seem quite so humorous. In fact, she was a tiny bit afraid that her cousin and Grandfather would hate her as soon as she walked through the door, and she would spend the rest of the year shunned and alone. If that would be the case, she would've been better off staying back at home. At least there she could always count on her servants. Here, though, she was completely alone. Here, her title meant nothing. That fact sent both tingles of excitement and fear up her spine. She was thrilled that for once in her life, she would be _just_ Lucy. She was at the same time, terrified that being Just Lucy wasn't going to be as great as she thought. Her mind was a muddle of mixed emotions, her feelings pulling her in every direction and threatening to tear her apart.

"It's been so long, Capricorn," Lucy shared her worries, nervously running her fingers through her long blonde hair. It had slipped out of her ponytail as she slept, and she was sure it was a tangled rats nest by now, but she had bigger problems to worry about than hair. Or her face, as she was sure that was ruined as well. "What if they don't want me there?"

"Miss Lucy, if they hadn't wanted you than Mr. Marakov wouldn't have invited you to stay in the first place," Capricorn assured her, his tone gentle as he noticed her turmoil. He always found it amusing that the young, beautiful Heartfilia worried so much about how other's viewed her. It wasn't just her looks either—it was actually rarely about her looks—but rather her personality. Somehow she had gotten the thought stuck in her mind that she was boring, that nobody wanted her around, and she was nothing but a bother. The man knew that her insecurities had very much to do with his boss, but as much as he wanted to, he was in no position to critique said man. He knew why Mr. Heartfilia pushed his daughter away, not that he agreed with it, but he understood. Lucy did happen to have a stricking resemblance to Layla, not that you would notice it much since she now seemed to be stuck in a pit of depression. She still looked like her mother, nothing would change that fact, but it was like the life had been taken out of her. In fact, he was scaredly reminded of her mother's corpse; beautifully done up like she'd been planning to attend a ball with her family, but without her ususal smile or mischevious bright eyes. She had looked, well, dead, and he was afraid to admit that Lucy had begun to take on such unpleasing qualities. He couldn't even remember the last time she smiled, let alone laughed.

That was why Capricorn was so excited about this. Yes, he would miss his young mistress and her odd, off-hand comments, but he was hoping that by the time he saw her next, he would see a smile on her face and, if he was lucky, a laugh on her lips. He knew that Marakov and Laxus were excited for Lucy to finally join them once again. His old master had been trying to reach out to his family on the other side of the country ever since Layla's unfortunate and sudden demise. It was Jude who had kept the Dreyar's away from the young blonde, but he wouldn't tell her that. He hoped that a nice, surprise greeting of warm hugs would be enough to give Lucy a more confident outlook on her situation. He also knew that Laxus had many friends Lucy's age, and they were all excited to meet her. Capricorn could barely supress his smile as they drove into the main part of town. Buildings were popping up; a grocery store (much to Lucy's relief), a gas station and convenient store, a small mall, and a close suburb of houses. He watched in the mirror's reflection as Lucy picked herself up to look out the window, clearly surprised to see decent looking town before her. Certainly it was no Crocus, but Lucy was always complaining about the size of the city anyway. He truly hoped she would find a more comfortable home here in Magnolia. He'd never thought of her as a city girl, anyway.

A few turns later, and Capricorn was pulling into a driveway of a house. Lucy glanced at it from her window, squinting her eyes to see through the steadily darkening night. The house looked a little scary with no lights to illuminate it, but she had to admit that it also had a cozy, homely appearance to it that made the weight in her stomach slightly less heavy. She could see the outline of a flower garden, although she could only guess at who maintained that. A small porch led up to the door, the only illuminated thing. She saw a large patio swing sitting eerly still on the porch, and a small table in front of it. She had trouble imagining her Grandpa and Cousin sitting together and enjoying a nice cup of tea, but had already settled in her mind that it would be her new favorite spot here.

Capricorn came around the car as she was examining the house, and pulled her door open for her. She braced herself for the cold winds that usually assulted her, but was pleasantly surprised when a nice warm, summer breeze brushed past instead. Her friend laughed at her expresion, and she sent him a half-hearted glare before sliding out of the car, her backpack hanging off one shoulder. She had to remind herself that Crocus and Magnolia were a whole country apart from each other, and that this new town would be different than what she was used to. She guessed if the surprises were as good as the weather, than she might like this town after all.

"Why don't you head up to the door, I'm sure Marakov and Laxus will be waiting for you," he told her gently, snapping her out of her observations. She blinked at him in surprise, opening her mouth to protest, but he handed her another small bag and turned her towards the door before she could even utter a word. She stared at him as he made his way to the trunk, glaring as she realized that he had just pushed all the work load onto himself.

"At least let me carry in my own luggage," Lucy protested, slipping the strap of the second bag over her other shoulder. She stomped around the car, but by the time she reached there, Capricorn already had her two suitcases in hand and the trunk shut with a snap. Lucy frowned at her friend, but he merely gave her a smile before making his way towards the porch. She sighed as she realized he wasn't going to back down, and followed after him sullenly. The porch squeaked as they climbed the steps, and she cringed. They sounded like gunshots in the silent night air. Very much unlike the busy nightlife of Crocus.

Capricorn set down one of her cases and politely knocked on the door. She was about to ask him how he managed to do it without it echoing into the silent air, but just as she opened her mouth the door swung open and a warm light covered them. She blinked at the sudden brightness, squinting her eyes as she tried to find the face of who was standing in the doorway. Her eyes fluttered, just managing to make out two silhouettes against the light. One seemed to be incredibly tall, while the other was comically short. She didn't get to see more however, as she was suddenly attacked.

Lucy stiffened in horror as she felt a strong set of arms wrap around her waist, trapping her arms stiffly. Panic filled her chest and she closed her eyes. Just as she was sure she was dead, a chuckle broke through the night.

"Why, haven't you grown into a beautiful young thing?" An older voice cackled delightfully, and Lucy felt the arms tighten around her, but suddenly the attack seemed less like one and more like...a hug? Lucy opened her eyes quickly, her eyes falling down to look at the short man in front of her. She recognized him right away, from his bushy white moustache, balding head of white hair, and dark brown eyes that seemed to be laughing. He was also smiling, and she was surprised to discover that he was smiling _at_ her.

"Grandpa Marakov?" Lucy asked uncertainly, eyeing the man. She had remembered the man being on the smaller side, but he certainly couldn't have been this short, could he? He barely reached her elbow, and she was only 5'5.

"Ah," the old man sighed, his eyes softening as his smile bcame slightly sadder. "You look just like your mother."

Lucy froze and shivered at the mention of her mother, despite the fact that the air was still relatively warm. Marakov didn't notice or just didn't comment as his smile widened again and he pulled back, looking her up and down. She felt a little uncomfortable as his eyes seemed to linger around her chest, but then he was suddenly smiling at her and she just had to believe that she was imagining it. She gave him a shaky smile in return, although it was much more successful than her attempt in the car. Something about seeing her Grandfather again was giving her warm tingles in her stomach, and while it was an odd sensation, it wasn't uncomfortable.

"Sorry we arrived so late, the traffic was rather heated," Capricorn apoligized, snapping Lucy out of her moment. She blinked in surprise and turned towards Capricorn awkwardly as he gave her a sideways smile before looking down at Marakov. "Do you mind if I come in for a moment? Just to help Miss Lucy settle her things."

"Of course, of course. You know you're always welcome, Capricorn," Marakov waved away the formalities, giving Lucy another smile as he stepped inside. Lucy looked up, but her cousin was already inside. She silently cursed herself, hoping he didn't hate her now for ignoring him, and followed after the old man. Capricorn smiled at her back, picking up the luggage and following.

Lucy was greeted by a strong scent of firewood and cookies as she entered the living room. The room itself was small, but cozy looking. There was a maroon colored sofa pressed against the far wall, a redwood table and a large TV sitting in front of it, and two other brown arm chairs on either side of the couch, twisted to face the TV. The light orange painted walls made the whole place seem all the more welcoming.

"Sorry about the smell, Natsu tends to go a little crazy with fire," Marakov apoligized, noticing her sniffing the air. She blushed in embarasment of being caught, but frowned at the mention of an unfamiliar name. Was there someone else living here?

"Natsu?" She questioned quietly, and Marakov laughed lightly. The laugh sounded like a mix between humor and grief, although his face pointed towards the latter.

"He lives next door, although I'm sure he'll be over here soon enough," she watched as he sighed, looking like this fact truly upset him. Lucy silently wondered who this Natsu person was (her neighbor apparently) and what he had done to upset her Grandpa so much, but a second later the old man was back to his cheery self and the question was avoided. "Come, you can finally meet Laxus." He grabbed her hand, despite her protest, and began dragging her into another room. The color contrast was startling, moving from the warm oranges and browns to the blue and white tiled walls of the kitchen. The cold white tile beneath her feet sent shivers up her back. She glanced around, discovering that, despite the colors, the kitchen was just as comfortable as the living room. It was on the smaller size, but it was perfectly situated in her opinion. Yeah, perhaps the oven would be a problem when she pulled it open, and the fridge seemed just a little too close to the center island, but other than that everything seemed to have just enough space for it to look comfortable, not cluttered. Lucy felt herself warming up to the place already.

Her attention, however, was torn away from the kitchen as a young man walked into the room. He froze as well, looking slightly startled to see her there. Lucy had to supress the urge to laugh as he tried to speak and some crumbs from the cookie in his mouth fell on his chin, reminding him that his mouth was currently occupied. He quickly pulled the cookie out of his mouth, wiping the crumbs away with his arm, and gave Lucy a sheepish smile. Laxus was nothing and yet everything she remembered him to be. Awkward for sure, he'd proved that within five seconds of meeting her, but the only resemblance to the skinny short kid she used to know was his blonde hair and blue eyes. His incredibly built body, the odd lightning-shaped scar cutting across his right eye, and the broody aura around him was all new but, as she examined him, not unexpected. She felt a little silly for believing that the same scrawny blonde haired boy would greet her, asking if she wanted to play kick ball with him. She took pleasure in the surprise on his own face as his eyes traveled across her face and did a quick scan of her body. He wasn't the same scrawny brat, and she definately wasn't the same little girl carrying stuffed animals around and hiding behind her mom's legs.

"Long time no see, blondie," he said finally, his voice gruff and low. She supressed chuckling, wondering how hard puberty must've hit him. He looked like a boy on steroids. Suddenly, she wondered if Marakov had pictures.

"You certainly changed. Been hitting the gym, I see?" she assumed, glancing at him before folding her arms.

"I could say the same. Forgot your stuffed animals in the car?" he teased back, and she glared at him while he smirked. The two other men watched the exchange with smiles; both glad to see that their charges were warming up to each other.

"We've both changed," Lucy finally summed up, smiling a little sadly. "It's been a long time. Too long," she added hesitantly.

"Yeah, well if your—" he cut off at the look his Grandpa was giving him, while Lucy looked at him curiously. LAxus coughed awkwardly, giving Lucy a sideways grin. "If you had gotten your ass down here sooner, we wouldn't even be having this awkward conversation."

Lucy didn't even blink at his foul language, instead opting to give his a slight smile. She had never thought of that, she had always just assumed that her other family wanted nothing to do with her. The thought that he had wondered about her, wanted her to come visit, made that weird warm feeling fill her chest again. She dicided she rather liked the feeling, and managed to pull one of her best smiles to her face. "Sorry I took so long," she whispered. Laxus blinked in surprise, shocked by the honesty and sadness filling her voice. He pushed his surprise away, smiling back.

"Yeah, well, you're here now, Blondie." He scratched his head, a slight pink to his cheeks. His awkwardness was so endearing that she felt her smile widening. She blatanly realized that she'd smiled in this house more than she had ever in her own home, but that hardly seemed of consequence to her now. With the excitement and nervousness finally burned away, all Lucy could feel was exhaustion. It weighed heavily at her limbs, and pulled her eyelids down.

"How about we bring up your luggage to your room and you can get some rest. I'm sure you're tired after such a long day of traveling," Marakov suggested, and she gave him a thankful look. The old man returned it with a smile and turned to Capricorn. Her close friend, practically her second father, moved forward and wrapped a gentle hand around her shoulder. For a moment he just smiled down at her. She still couldn't see his eyes, but she had no doubts that he was taking in all of her features. She did the same, eyes scanning over his fluffy head of white hair, his tall frame and his happy smile. She would miss seeing that smile, miss the feel of his arms wrapping her in his rare hugs. As if reading her mind, he moved his hand down her arm and around her back, pulling her into his chest. He was like a tower compared to her small form, but she felt secure as she brought her own arms up and hugged him back. His suit was warm and she knew she was slightly wrinkling it as she brought herself even closer, but the familiar scent of lavender and polish filled her nose and eased her soul. It was an addicting and calming scent, one that could not be replicated by cheap perfume, and she knew that she would miss it when he was gone.

"Please enjoy yourself here, Ms. Lucy," Capricorn murmured from above her. Lucy nodded against his chest, smiling into his shirt when he gently rubbed her head. She could feel the moment was over, and she gave him one last strong squeeze before pulling away. Capricorn held her at arms length for a moment, looking as reluctant as she felt, but then he gave her one last sweet smile and his grip was gone. Lucy let her arms drop to her side, feeling suddenly cold and tired, as her one companion turned his back to her and began to converse with her Grandpa.

As the two began to talk, Laxus moved forward and gently took her arm in his large hand. She was surprised by the sudden contact, and still startled by the size of his body, but allowed him to drag her out of the room. She cast one last look at her friend from under the doorway, but all she saw was his nearly ironed back before she was being pulled away.

They passed through what appeared to be a laundry room and back into the main hall. He led her up the stairs, only letting her go when they reached the hallway at the top. He motioned her towards a closed door. From the looks of it, there appeared to be five doors, exactly like the one before her. Laxus noticed her confusion and laughed.

"The one on the far end is Gramp's room, and beside it is his office. The door beside that is the bathroom and this one," he points to the one the opposite side of her bedroom, "is my room. Don't worry, I won't make you go in there."

"How kind of you," she moaned between a yawn, and he chuckled, opening the door. She stepped into the room, surveying it with interest. It was smaller than she was used to but, like everything else in this house, perfect for her tastes. The walls were painted a light blue that reminded her of the sky, and a small twin bed was pressed into the corner. A TV was hung on the wall, and a dresser lined the opposite wall. Lucy moved towards the dresser, picking up a small picture frame that was sitting on top of it. She felt her breath catch as she stared down at the photo. A young woman stared back at her, a woman that shared her hair and eyes, but at the same time was nothing like her.

Lucy knew that her mother was like a star; she always gave off a bright light that seemed to brighten even the darkest skies. People liked to say that Lucy looked like her mother, like it was some sort of compliment. It was nothing but a lie; she didn't light up any room when she walked by, or inspire people to go out and face the world. It seemed like she darkened things more than anything, the way her aura of depression seemed to always surround her. Lucy took it as an insult when people compared them. She was nothing like her mother; _no one_ was like her mother.

"I'm sorry, I should've moved those before," Laxus said from behind her, startling her from her reviere. She set the frame down gently and turned to see him scratching the back of his head awkwardly. Lucy found the action endearing, and smiled kindly at him to reassure him he'd done nothing wrong.

"It's alright. Do you...do you mind if I keep these?" she question, glancing at the other pictures. There were three in total. One depicted a picture of her mom and dad, smiling and happy. Her mom was cradling their newly born daughter. The other showed the day when Laxus and Marakov had last visited, a picture where her mom and dad were smiling together, their hands on Lucy's little shoulders, and Marakov's hands on Laxus's. Everyone was smiling at the camera besides the two blonde children, who were looking at each other, stuck in a glaring match. Lucy remembered that had been taken just shortly after she'd dumped the salsa all over Laxus's head.

"Sure, they're yours," he assured her carefully, glancing at the photos briefly before turning back to her room. She realized he was trying to be gentle around the subject of her mother, and Lucy wanted to tell him that she was over it; it had happened a long time ago, but she was too tired to explain that to him now. "Sorry if it smells in here, Natsu and Gray tend to use this room when they stay over. I made sure to clean it really well, but if you smell anything..." he droned off, realizing he was rambling.

"I keep hearing about this Natsu person, and now Gray. Are they your friends?" She asked curiously, padding over and plopping down tiredly onto the bed.

"Yeah, something like that. They're actually your age, so a year younger than me, but I like 'em well enough," he paused, as if considering what to say next. "They're really excited to meet you, especially the girls. I swear I'm deaf by how much they talk about you."

"Talk about me? They don't even know me," she chuckled, amused by the expression on her cousin's face.

"Yeah, they were having a blast guessing what you would look like. I forgot who, I think it was Levy, but someone guessed that you would have purple hair and green eyes or something. I don't even know where they guessed that, considering Kinana," he shook his head, smirking at her confused expression. "Don't worry, you'll meet all of them soon. Although, I think you'll regret it afterwards."

"You make it sound like theres a ton of kids around here," she murmured.

"Well, there is. I know the town looks small, but there are actually a lot of kids, especially kids our age. Magnolia High is kind of our town's pride and joy," he laughed, rubbing his hand through his hair distractedly.

"It sounds great...can you tell me about your friends?" she asked curiously, but was cut off as a huge yawn errupted from her mouth. She smiled awkwardly at him while he laughed.

"How about you meet them for yourself. I'm sure Mira and Liz will be over here tomorrow, and you'll meet Natsu soon enouogh. Gramps told you he lives next door, right?" He watched as she climbed into bed, her eyes barely able to stay open.

"Yeah. Tell me, why does Grandpa seem to hate him so much?" she whispered, feeling sleep beginning to idle her mind, but refusing to close her eyes.

"Gramps doesn't hate him, he just gets really tired of his...antics," Laxus struggled to find an appropriate word to descrbe his friend. Lucy laughed slightly, trying to imagine what peculiar actions her neighbor was apparently notorious for, but by then Laxus was already starting out of the room. "You'll see tomorrow. Night, Blondie."

"Night," Lucy murmured before she closed her eyes. Laxus smiled at his cousin, already noticing that she was out. He was glad to see her warming up easily, and hoped that she would adept to the town as quickly as she was to him. He shook his worries away and turned, closing the door behind him with a small click and leaving the young blonde to her dreams.

Lucy woke up with a large yawn, stretching her arms high above her head. Warm sunlight was falling over her body from the large window, and she sighed, turning to go wash-up before breakfast. She froze when she spotted an unfamiliar room, but the panic washed away with the memory of the previous night's events. She rubbed her head tiredly, cringing at the knots in her hair, and wiped some drool off her face. She was surprised to see her luggage sitting on the floor next to the door, and headed over to it. She grabbed her backpack and pulled out her small plastic bag of toiletries. She grabbed the two luggage containers and hauled them onto the bed, pulling them open. Her clothes were in a slight disarray from the travel, but everything was there. Of course she hadn't brought any of the fancy, expencive dresses like her ffather had suggested, but rather a variaty of shirts, shorts, skirts, and pants that she had bought on her own or requested Virgo to get her. She was very glad now that she had them.

Lucy grabbed a black tank top, a pair of jean shorts, and a red plaid button-up. She gathered her supplies into her arms and made her way out of the room. She was once again surprised to discover that the hall, the whole house really, felt comfortably warm. She smiled to herself and headed to the bathroom.

After Lucy showered and made herself presentable, she dumped her dirty clothes off in her room and unloaded her supplies. By the time she was done, her closet was stocked, drawers filled, bed sheets changed, and she had the few trinkets she'd brought with her set up on the dresser with the photos. She also added a photo of her and the rest of the Heartfiliar servants. She smiled at the photo kindly before making her way out of the room and down to greet her family. She secretly pleaded that last night was not some mistake, and that today she wouldn't suddenly be subject to the cold shoulder.

She padded down the stairs, following the scent of bacon to the kitchen. She supressed her smile as she passed through the living room and stepped into the small cooking area. "Morning Lax—" she froze as not only her cousin looked up at her, but another girl as well. Lucy felt slightly awkward because she immediately the girl was sitting on the island in front of Laxus, her legs over his and her hands in his. Laxus blinked in surprise and gave the blonde a nervous smile, while the stranger giggled and removed her hands from Laxus's.

The girl was beautiful, that was the second thing Lucy noticed. She was slightly taller than Lucy, with long white hair that curled down to her lower back and bright, shinning blue eyes. She reminded Lucy of the porcelain dolls that were sitting on her shelves at home. She looked perfect, and her smile didn't exactly bring down any points.

"You're Lucy right? Well, either that or my boyfriend is cheating on me," the girl laughed, extending a hand. Lucy grabbed it. "Not that I could blame him, you're very beautiful."

"Thank you," Lucy blushed at the compliment, shaking the girl's hand. Her skin was smooth, but warm, and her grip was friendly. "I wasn't aware that Laxus had a girlfriend," Lucy told her, pulling away and putting on a smile. She sent a glare towards the boy, "He kept that secret from me."

"I told you that you'd meet Mira today," Laxus defended himself, holding up his hands. The girl, Mira, laughed and gave him a playful hit to the shoulder.

"I didn't think that you two would look so much like each other. Are you sure you're cousins? Not seperated siblings?" she joked, looking between the two blondes.

"Me, related to him? God, the world would've exploded," Lucy joked, earning a laugh from Mira and a glare from Laxus.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Lucy. My name is Mirajane, although you can just call me Mira, and I'm this idiot's girlfriend," she said sweetly, tilting her head and smiling. Laxus frowned at the mention of his idiocy, while Lucy smiled back at the blue-eyed girl.

"The pleasure's mine, Mira," Lucy replied. Mira's smile widened at the use of her nickname.

"I'm sorry its just me today. Typically my little sister and brother would've come, but Lisanna had to help out at the school, and Elfman is helping the boys set up for their wrestling match," Mira rolled her eyes at the last part, while Laxus sighed tiredly.

"They're doing _that_ again?" He shook his head, grumbling something under his breath. Lucy couldn't hear, but whatever he said had Mira laughing.

"Um, what?" Lucy asked confusedly.

"You should know that the boys around here sometimes tend to, well, get a little physical with each other," Mira started awkwardly.

" _Sometimes_?" Laxus said exprasedly. "More like every five minutes."

"Alright, so they get into fights a lot. Don't worry, they don't fight girls. Well, besides Erza, but she kicks their butts," Mira assured her, noticing her scared look. "Anyway, sometimes the fights get a little bit more serious than who stole whose pencil, and we decide to settle them with wrestling compitions. You should come, it's entertaining to watch them make fools of themselves."

"Sounds like fun," Lucy said after a moment of processing. "When is it at?"

"Elfman will text me when they're all set up. You can come with us," the white haired girl told her, smiling. Lucy smiled back and Laxus sighed, clearly distressed that he was being roped into such an activity.

"Alright, let me just get some breakfast."

 **Sorry it's so long, but I hope you enjoy. New chapter coming soon~**


	2. Chapter 2

It wasn't much longer when Mira got a text from her brother, claiming that the match was set and ready to go. Lucy was a little disappointed when Mira told her that none of the boys fighting would be thier age, as the kids from their grade had decided to hold off. The blonde pushed away the frustration and decided that meeting Mira's siblings was a good enough reason to go anyway.

As Lucy chatted with the young girl, she found herself warming up. Mira was not just some beautiful face; she was smart and kind, she was never afraid to speak up and, as Laxus murmured to her, could be just as terrifying as Erza. She didn't know who that was, but took his word for it. She knew better than anyone that people with pretty faces could be the most evil of all, and she didn't want to get on her new friend's bad side.

"So how did you two meet? I don't mean any offense, but you seem like the last person to be interested in Laxus," Lucy asked curiously as she slid into the back seat of the car, purposefully ignoring Laxus' glare in the rearview mirror. Laxus had offered to drive, well, more like Mira had 'politely' suggested that he drove. Lucy was amused by how her tall, slightly intimidating cousin all but bent to Mira's whims, and was further entertained when he pulled out of the driveway in a silver Chevy.

"A couple of years ago I wouldn't have thought I'd ever have the guts to approach Laxus," Mira admitted, sending the big guy a fond look before turning to face Lucy. "I actually work at your grandfather's bar. I've been there since I was a freshman."

"Eh? Grandpa has a bar?" Lucy gasped, glaring towards the other blonde. "Why don't you tell me these things?"

"It's not a huge deal. Our friends and a couple of old drunks are really the only ones who go there," he shrugged.

"Fairy Tail is like our home," Mira cut off the blonde, her voice filled with passion. "Everyone there is family, and we all watch out for our family. You'll be surprised to discover how many rivals we have." Lucy was confused, but only nodded. Mira smiled sympathetically and continued with her story. "Of course I went to the same highschool as Laxus. He was a year older than me, and practically a king with his little groupees always following him around."

"Bixlow, Freed, and Evergreen are not my groupees," Laxus denied vehemently. Mira sent him a look that said 'don't even try to deny it' before turning back to Lucy with a nod.

"They're all in Laxus' grade, and they practically worship the ground he walks on. Honestly, how are we supposed to go on dates when they're following him the whole time? So unromantic," she sighed, but there was still a small smile on her face that told Lucy that Laxus' "groupees" were a part of her family. Lucy was a little shocked by the amount of love and passion in her tone. She tried to ignore the heated jealously in her stomach. "But, regardless, I was afraid of him. It wasn't hard to avoid him in school, but work was another story. Of course he was always there, his grandfather put him to work, and our shifts seemed to always intertwine. I tried to avoid him, taking tables as far away from him as I could, but then Master moved me to work at the bar and he was transfered to the kitchen. Horrid idea, really. He can't cook for the life of him," she giggled at the blonde's groan. "Slowly we'd begin to talk to each other, and I got less timid around him. I still wouldn't consider approaching him in school, but I considered him my work friend. I was okay with that, until one night," Mira cringed and Lucy saw Laxus stiffen in the front seat. Lucy watched as Laxus carefully slid his hand over and grabbed Mira's, squeezing it reassuringly.

"If it's too bad, you don't have to tell me," Lucy told her gently, but Mira just laughed.

"Oh no, it wasn't bad. Well, Laxus didn't allow it to become bad. I was doing a late shift, and the only person still with me was my friend Cana. She was kind of drunk," Laxus threw in a quick 'when isn't she' but Mira ignored him, "and I had gone out back to throw out the trash. I was about to head in when suddenly I was grabbed and dragged backwards. A group of drunken men from one of the other bars, Sabertooth, had come. They pinned me down on the ground and began to try and strip me. They didn't get very far before Laxus was there," she cast a loving glance at the blonde. "Laxus was stronger than all of them, of course, but you wouldn't believe how resilient drunk men can be. One of them managed to grab a glass bottle and cut Laxus's face. That's how he got his scar.

"He managed to get rid of them, and then helped me up. Even though he was bleeding and looked worse for wear, he smiled at me and told me he thought I would have trouble. After that, I begin to approach him in school and talk to him. Only a couple of weeks later, he asked me out after work, and then two days after, I was his girlfriend, and that's how it's been for the last three years," Mira smiled with a giggle, and Lucy found herself smiling as well. She glanced at her cousin in the mirror, but his eyes were steadily locked onto the road.

"That sounds so sweet. I'm glad Laxus has someone as nice as you to even him out," Lucy said, smirking as the blonde grunted in the front. Mira smiled back and then burst into a smile, glancing at the window.

"We're here!"

Lucy was dragged into the large school by Mira as the white-haired girl began to excitedly point things out. Laxus followed behind, hands buried in his pockets, watching the two girls with a small smile.

"This is the front office, where Mr. Straight works, and this is the nurses office. I don't suggest you go there often, Ms. Porlyscia has a thing against humans." Lucy was about to ask why she was a nurse, but shut her mouth and just allowed herself to be dragged along. Her cousin chuckled at her expression as Mira showed her the gym, auditorium, a couple of classrooms, and the extra-curricular art, music, choir, and band rooms. Lucy tried to take everything in, but the information came quick and was replaced by something else just as fast. She didn't risk asking questions as she took in information, and Laxus took to muttering the information in simpler terms for her to understand.

"And here we are!" Mira cheered, pushing open two double doors. There was a slight roar of cheers from the people cluttered in the space. Lucy had expected it to be set up in a gym, but the room looked like an abandoned classroom. It wasn't huge or very professional looking; the windows were boarded up so only thin streams of light shone through, and a large single red mat was in the center of the room, surrounded by the crowd of teens. In fact, the place looked more like a shady backalley type of thing more than anything else.

On the mat, two boys were struggling to pin each other to the floor, their arms locked around their heads while everyone else cheered them on. Personally, Lucy thought they looked more like they were having an intense hug instead of a fight, but she kept that to herself. "I know it's not that impressive when freshmen fight, but you should see our boys. They're crazy!" Mira yelled over the noise, noticing her look. Lucy nodded back, taking her word for it, and followed the white haired girl through the crowd.

A few people called out to Mira, but the girl waved them away with her hand. Some other people eyed the blonde questioningly, instantly noticing the unfamiliar face. Lucy felt like a spot of black on a white canvas, and it was only Laxus's hand on her back that kept her moving forward. She was sure her cousin was glaring at those who looked at her for too long, because when she looked up they were all turning back to the fight.

"Elfman! Lisanna!" Mira suddenly yelled, her hand reclaiming Lucy's wrist before tugging her past two people. They gave protest as the girls pushed through, but then noticed Laxus and just grumbled before moving away. Lucy didn't have time to make fun of her cousin as she was jerked to a stop. She looked up, her view captured on two people smiling at her.

The first one she noticed was a girl, Lisanna she presumed. Lisanna looked exactly like her sister with the exception that her white hair was cut to her chin, and her blue eyes were slightly darker. She smiled as her eyes caught Lucy, and stuck a hand out.

"Hi there! I'm Lisanna!" She said cheerfully. Lucy smiled back, taking her hand and shaking it. She felt like the cheer was contagious, making her stomach feel giddy.

"I'm Lucy," the blonde introduced, pulling back.

"Laxus's cousin?" Lisanna asked, her voice sounding surprised. She glanced Lucy up and down critically.

"Mira's sister?" Lucy replied, giggling when Lisanna began to laugh.

"How did you know?" She joked.

"Cousins are manly!" A booming voice proclaimed in front of them, making Lucy jump and turn her head up. Lisanna laughed as Lucy took in Mira's brother, Elfman. She had thought Laxus was on drugs, but if that was the case then this guy did illegal experimentation. He was bulging with muscles and well over six feet tall. His white hair was cut short in a buzz, and a thin scar ran from his chin to eye. He stared down at Lucy with a odd look before breaking out into a huge grin. She felt the breath knocked out of her as he wrapped his arms around her. For a terrifying moment, Lucy thought he was trying to wrestle her, but than he proclaimed, "Hugs are manly!" and she realized that this time it really was a hug.

"Elfman! Don't kill the poor girl!" Lisanna sighed, and a second later Lucy was back on her feet, gasping for breath. She bent over, sucking in air greedily, while Elfman rubbed his head sheepishly.

"Sorry, Lucy," he apologized, but the blonde gave him a reassuring smile, finally straightening out.

"That's okay. It's good to meet you, Elfman," Lucy assured him, smiling through the pain in her chest. Lisanna and Mira cast her sad looks, but Elfman didn't notice it as he laughed.

"Lucy is man!" He bellowed as if it was the greatest thing ever. Lucy blushed and ducked her head as people looked over.

"Elf-nii, can we dial it down with the manliness, please?" Mira requested sweetly. Elfman nodded his head. "So, this is my brother and sister, as you see," Mira pointed out, turning to Lucy. Lucy looked between the three and nodded, unsure of what else to do.

"You look an awful lot like Laxus, are you sure you're his cousin?" Lisanna asked, squinting at the blonde. Laxus and Lucy looked at each other before quickly shaking their heads.

"Cousins," they assured her together. The Strauss siblings exchanged looks with each other before smiling.

"If you say so," Mira sang. Laxus rolled his eyes.

"I'm going not gonna stand around while you girls do your thing. Call me when you want to leave. Elfman?" Laxus glanced at the white haired boy.

"Fighting is manly!" He affirmed, following after Laxus.

"Those two," Mira sighed tiredly, but a small smile donned her face. She turned away from where the two boys had disappeared into the crowd, and clasped her hands together. "Is anyone else here that Lucy can meet?"

Lucy groaned at Mira's excitement, while Lisanna laughed at Lucy's pain. "Mira," Lucy said gently, trying not to sound ungrateful, "if you introduce me to anything else tonight, i think i'm going to explode."

"Oh, did Mira-nee show you around the school, Lucy?" Lisanna giggled, finally realizing why the blonde seemed so stressed. Mira just looked between the two in confusion. Lisanna laughed on her sister's behalf. "I think you went a little too fast, Mira-nee. I dont' think Lucy could keep up."

"No, I could not," Lucy agreed, laughing when Mira frowned.

"But you never stopped me to ask questions!" Mira protested, displeased that her tour went to waste.

"You never gave me the chance," Lucy said back before gently giving her arm a friendly bump. "It's alright, I enjoyed just walking around with you and Lax. I never got to hang out with friends often back at home, so this was really fun!" Actually, she didn't have friends back home, but she didn't say that.

"Oh, Lucy," Mira said, smiling gently. "I enjoy hanging out with you two!" And before the blonde could process it, Mira was also trying to wrestle her. Er, hug her.

"Whoa!" Lucy gasped, surprised by the strength of Mira's grip. It wasn't as bad as Elfman's, that was for sure, but it was no joke either.

"I know we've only known each other for a few hours, but I feel like we've been friends forever," Mira admitted, pulling away and giving the blonde a blinding smile. Lucy couldn't help but giggle and smile back, even if it hurt her chest.

"Perhaps you were friends in another life?" Lisanna suggested, watching the exchange in amusement.

"Of course we were!" Mira shouted joyously, grabbing Lucy's hand tightly. "And in this life we'll be best friends too, yeah?"

Lucy looked at their locked hands and the two girls' smiling faces before nodding slowly. She didn't know why, but she could feel her eyes watering. She blinked quickly, trying to hide the tears, but they came anyway. Mira and Lisanna's smiles died away when they spotted them, happy expressions replaced by concern, which only made Lucy cry harder.

"What's wrong Lucy?" Lisanna worried, moving forward.

"Did I say something wrong?" Mira gasped, looking sad.

"No, no!" Lucy waved her hands, rubbing her eyes and chuckling. "God, I'm so sorry. No, you guys didn't do anything wrong. I'm just...I'm just not used to having friends, and I came to this town thinking I was going to hate it and everyone here is just so nice and...and..." Lucy sniffed, dropping her hands and smiling brightly at the two. "And I'm so excited to spend more time here with you all!"

"Lucy," Mira whined, enveloping into another, less painful hug. Lisanna also smiled and joined in, and Lucy giggled before wrapping her arms around the two other girls. After a moment they pulled away, Lucy sniffing and dabbing at her slightly red eyes.

"Ugh, I hate crying. I'm sorry I'm so emotional," she apologized, but the other two shook thier heads.

"Don't apologize for something like that! I think it's great, this just proves we'll have an even deeper friendship!" Mira proclaimed, smiling.

"You know what I think we should do?" Lisanna asked, placing a hand on each girl's shoulder and making them look at her. She smirked. "I think we should take Lucy to Fairy Tail."

Fairy Tail was nothing like Lucy imagined it to be.

The front of the bar looked pleasant enough, even a little extravagent. It resembled an old castle, brightly colored with reds, greens, blues, and had a glowing sign above the large wooden entrance that proclaimed it's name proudly. She was impressed to say the least, but that feeling died as soon as she entered the door and a wood chair came flying towards her face.

She would've been a Lucy pancake if Laxus hadn't stepped forward, with surprising quickness, and stopped the chair midair. Lucy had screamed in surprise and covered her face with her arms, but lowered them when she realized that she'd been saved from the oncoming danger.

"Why is it always chairs?" She heard Lisanna mutter from beside her before the white haired siblings grabbed Lucy's arms and dragged her from behind her Laxus-shield. Everyone in the room was looking at Laxus with fearful looks, but their expressions turned curious as the two girls stepped out with an unfamiliar girl in their grip. She looked fearfully around the room, examining the different faces and silently wondering who had thrown the chair.

"Who's that?" someone finally called out, although Lucy could not pinpoint from where, exactly.

"This is Lucy," Mira introduced loudly so everyone could hear her. Lucy felt extremely self-conscious as all the people in the bar examined her. She would've tugged her shorts lower if she had control of her arms, but she didn't so she just ended up squirming between Lisanna and Mira's strong grips. Silence filled the air, making a tension grow in her stomach.

"She's a hottie!" a voice called, and suddenly the tension was erased. A bunch of people burst out laughing while others threw in comments about Lucy's appearance and body. Lucy became flushed when someone commented on her breasts, and then Laxus was back in front of them, glaring around the guild.

"She is also my cousin, and Gramps' granddaughter. Remember that," he warned, and the comments about her suddenly stopped. The whole room sent one last glance at the blonde before turning around and resuming their conversations. Lucy blinked in surprise, but Lisanna gave her a look that said this was nothing unusual before pulling her towards the bar. There was a girl standing behind the bar, rushing back and forth as she took orders from those on the stools. The three girls and Laxus approached the bar, and she looked over with a tired look. Her expression turned into relief when she spotted Mira, and Lucy was sure she would've tackled the girl if there wasn't a bar between them. She had short, dark purple hair and bright green eyes that almost seemed to be glowing as she smiled towards the group. Lucy briefly remembered Laxus mentioning her before, but couldn't think of her name.

"Mira!" the girl gasped, leaning across the bar to look Mira in the eyes. "Why is that whenever you get off, the bar is swamped?" she asked, frowning towards the long line of men sitting on the stools. Some smirked at her from over their beers, others ordering more just so she would glare at them. Lucy noticed an odd looking tattoo in green on her lower back as she turned to yell at one boy who was holding a beer and...a broom? The boy snickered before running off with his broom, and the girl sighed and turned back around. "Please help me!" she begged.

"I'm sorry Kina, but I'm actually here to show Lucy around," Mira apologized, although she looked like she had no regret about being unable to participate. Kina, as Mira had said, blinked in surprise and turned her gaze onto the blonde girl standing beside her, noticing her for the first time. She eyed Lucy up and down critically before smiling.

"Hey Lucy, wanna help me work?" Kina asked. Lucy giggled while Mira sighed, reprimanding the girl for trying to push her work off on the unknowing innocents of the bar. Lucy took the time to turn and examine the bar. It was all made of wood, but was huge. There were two floors, with two sets of stairs on either side of the large room leading up to a small upper platform, but there seemed to be no one up there. The lower floor was adorned with a large stage, currently covered by curtains, and had tables and booths spread across the floor. Behind the bar was a small kitchen where she could see another person running around and fufiling orders. Lucy was surprised by the amount of people in the bar, especially since her cousin had said that not many came to it. She also noticed as she gazed around, that there were other people with the same tattoo as Kina. She spotted two older men sitting in a booth, each adorned with the mark. She turned towards her cousin curiously, the two barmaids still fighting and a panicky Lisanna trying to break them up.

"Laxus, what's up with those tattoos?" Lucy asked, pointing towards one girl who was sitting on top of a table with a barrel of beer. The blue tattoo on her stomach was clearly visible with only a blue bra covering her upper half. She looked a little tipsy, a lazy smile on her flushed face and her brown hair starting to fizz out. Laxus rolled his eyes at the girl before his eyes found what Lucy was talking about. He laughed when he understood.

"Those aren't tattoos, their stamps," he told her.

"Stamps?" Lucy didn't get it.

"Yeah, sort of like identification. Only people who officially join our bar get them from Gramps. Sometimes we have an open night, like tonight, where anyone can come in. In truth, we only have around thirty people in Fairy Tail," he stared at the huge crowd disdainfully.

"So it won't always be like this?" Lucy sighed in relief.

"Well, it won't be so crowded, but if you're talking about the fights than dont get too comfortable. There's always some fight going on here, and typically the whole guild gets pulled into it," he chuckled, remembering some moment. "Gramps has to pay for all the damage we cause. That's another reason he hates Natsu; that punk's usually the one who starts the fights. Well, him and Gray.

"And they're in my grade," Lucy deadpanned. Laxus shrugged and gave her a smile, while Lucy sighed. "I swear I'm gonna die this year."

"Don't worry about Natsu and Gray," Mira said, suddenly appearing at Laxus's side. Lisanna came up behind her, glaring at her sister and looking tired. "Erza doesn't let them get into fights on school grounds."

"Who is Erza? I've heard a lot about her," Lucy murmured, confused.

"Oh yeah, I guess she's not here tonight either. Anyway, Erza is kind of like the chaperone in our group. In reality, she's the student council president, and takes her job seriously. She can also kick Natsu's ass with just a flick of her wrist," Mira said, laughing at the last part.

"I really wish I had a face to put with all these people; Natsu, Erza, Gray...I have no idea who any of them are," Lucy sighed, rubbing her head.

"Don't worry, you'll meet them all soon enough," Lisanna assured her, smiling comfortingly.

"Most of them don't like to show up on open bar days," Mira explained to the blonde, motioning around the room. "Too many strangers on our turf tends to rile them up. In fact, I'm pretty sure master banned Natsu and Gray from coming on these days for starting too many fights."

"These guys sure like fighting," Lucy blinked, sweat dropping.

"To them, it's like air," Lisanna sighed, also looking upset by that fact.

"Only the really serious drunks like Cana, Wakaba, and Macao show up on these days, and then either me or Kinana, depending on whose turn it is to run the bar," Mira explained, pointing out the two older men from before and the drunk girl on the table. "Most of Fairy Tail like to come when its just us family."

"So this is the family you were talking about earlier?" Lucy asked, and Mira nodded with a smile. "It seems like a lot of fun."

"Oh, it's a blast," Mira assured her, and then jumped as she remembered something. She quickly grabbed Lucy by her shoulders and looked her dead in the eye. "What's your favorite color?"

"Color?" Lucy blinked in surprise, uncertain with the sudden change of events. "Um, pink?"

"Great!" Mira cheered, releasing the startled blonde and running over to Kinana. She whispered something to the girl, and the other smiled before ducking under the bar. She grabbed something and handed it to Mira. Mira gave her a thanks as she ran back to the group, stopping once again before Lucy. "Where do you want it?"

"Want what?" Lucy asked, confusion lacing her tone.

"Your stamp, of course," Mira rolled her eyes, showing Lucy the stamper. The blonde could make out the grooves of the odd symbol that she had spotted on the others. She felt her chest tighten.

"You want me to be a part of Fairy Tail?" she asked in shock, blinking.

"Well, duh," Lisanna answered for her, lifting up her shorts just enough so that her own silver stamp was able to be seen. "We did tell you that you're gonna be best friends with us, didn't we? In other words, that means you're a part of our family."

"Mmhmm, so where do you want it?" Mira asked again, clearly excited. Lucy felt slightly flustered.

"Where do you have yours?" she asked Mira.

"Same place as Liz's. Laxus has his on his chest, although I don't suggest you take that route," Mira laughed when Lucy's face flushed, and the blonde shook her head.

"Um, how about my hand?" Lucy asked curiously, wondering if that was okay. She didn't want to copy the two girls and she didn't want it on her upper body. At least on her hand people could look at it without turning to look at her butt or chest, and she kind of wanted to be able to show it off. The thought of having it covered made her feel a little sad.

"Hmm, I don't think anyone's ever done their hand before," Lisanna mused, tapping her chin.

"I like it! Are you sure that's where you want it?" Mira ensured. Lucy nodded, more confident in her decision, and Mira smiled. Lucy presented her right hand, and Mira pressed the stamper onto it. It was cold and tingled for a second, but when Mira pulled away, her hand felt normal. Lucy looked down, gasping at the pink mark on the back of her hand. She thought it looked pretty, the odd looking tattoo, and gently touched it. She was surprised to find that her skin didn't even feel sticky or wet. In fact, the stamp seemed to blend seemlessly into her skin.

"Does it wash off?" Lucy asked curiously.

"It's a special kind of mark that can only be removed by a mix that Master has. You only get it removed if you're not planning to come back," Mira said, looking at the mark doubtfully.

"So it's like a tattoo," Lucy clarified, but the fact that it would never disappear was less scary than she thought it would be. She was surprised to find herself okay with the mark on her skin.

"Sort of, but without the pain," Lisanna shrugged, smiling. "Cool right?"

"Very cool," Lucy agreed, smiling up at the long, white haired girl. "Thank you Mira."

"Welcome to Fairy Tail, Lucy."

Lucy stayed at Fairy Tail for hours. She didn't mind the crowd too much, although she would readily agree that a smaller group of people would've been more pleasing. However, by the time the sky had darkened with the setting sun, only the really drunk were still there. There was a hearty amount of people, but it was certainly less crowded and rowdy than before. Some of the drunks had even fallen asleep in their chairs, although the two older men in the corner were still chatting and smoking up a storm.

Lucy spent her time talking with Mira, Lisanna, and Kina at the bar. After some more pleading, Mira had agreed to help Kina with her troublesome customers, and Laxus had disappeared upstairs hours ago to where her grandfather's office apparently was. Lucy had begun to worry when he didn't return, but Mira assured her that he tended to get dragged into his grandfather's work. She didn't know what kind of work her grandfather was involved in that could keep her cousin away for hours, but decided it was best not to question it.

The blonde girl was pleased to know that Kinana, her full name, was actually very kind. Lucy learned that Kina, as she preferred to be called, had been with Fairy Tail since she was a young girl. Kina went to Magnolia High, and was even in the same grade as Lucy. She also discovered that the girl had an illegitimate boyfriend that followed her around, and that he was camped somewhere in the guild. Mira told Lucy that his name was Erik, although for some reason he went by Cobra, and that he was in their grade as well. Kina denied it when they called him her boyfriend, saying that he was just a friend, but Lucy saw the blush on the girl's face and knew that was a lie she wouldn't be able to keep for long. Lucy had yet to actually see said boy, but Mira assured her that he was never far from Kinana.

"So what about you, Lis? Got anyone on your radar?" Lucy asked, giving the white-haired girl a curious stare over the lip of her glass. She had been nursing a shallow glass of red wine for the last hour and a half, quite pleased with the calming effect it had on her. It made her stomach less queasy, and talking a lot easier. There were no age limits in Fairy Tail, although Lucy had no intention of abusing that rule.

"What? No," Lisanna blushed slightly, shaking her head. Lucy caught onto her lie instantly, and so did the others.

"Oh, I know who Lis likes," Mira bragged, snickering at the fearful look on Lisanna's face. Lucy understood why; from what she'd gotten in the past hour, Mira tended to be a huge gossiper as well as a matchmaker. Lisanna and Kina had also both informed her that she tended to take her matchmaking to the absolute limit.

"Lizzy, don't lie to us," Kina whined, sipping a rather large cup of her own wine.

"I don't!" Lisanna protested. "Mira is crazy."

"Oh really? So you don't like Natsu," Mira smiled, and Lisanna's cheeks heated up as she turned away.

"That was so long ago, Mira. When will you get over that," she murmured, but something told Lucy that Lisanna still very much liked this Natsu person.

"Ooh! Natsu and Lizzy sittin' in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G," Lucy teased, and Lisanna sent her a half-hearted glare.

"First comes love," Kina sang along, raising her eyebrows suggestively. Liz blushed at the implications.

"Then comes marriage!" Mira gushed, her eyes practically shinning.

"And finally a baby in the baby carriage!" Lucy finished, breaking into laughter. The other girls laughed as well, and Liz puffed out her cheeks as she glared at the three.

"I'm serious! That guy is just too crazy for me to handle," Lisanna said, looking between them, but only seeing smirks. She sighed in annoyance, shaking her head. "You guys are unbelievable."

"We know you are," Mira said back to her, causing Lucy and Kinana to laugh again. Lisanna pouted as her sister chuckled.

"Great. You bring her to the bar and the first thing you do is get her drunk," A deep voice said from behind them, and they turned to see Laxus standing there. Her cousin had lines of exhaustion etched on his face, and he was staring accusingly between Lucy and Mira.

"I can handle a little wine, Lax," Lucy assured her cousin, setting her glass down. "Are we gonna go home now?"

"Yeah, it's late and I have to get up early tomorrow. Gramps and I have to go on a business trip to Blue Pegasus, so you're gonna have to stay home alone for a while," Laxus told her, trying to help her off the seat. Lucy slapped his hand away, rolling her eyes at him.

"Do you want me to come over?" Mira offered. "Liz and I have something to do in the morning, but I can come over around two if you want?"

"Yeah, that sounds good. Where'll we go?" Lucy asked.

"Back here so you can meet the rest of the gang. I want you to know at least a few people before you go to school on Monday," Mira informed her.

"Ugh, school, the bane of my existence," Lucy sighed, but smiled thankfully at the girl. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"At two," Lisanna reminded her with a giggle, waving goodbye. Lucy laughed and waved back, following Laxus out of the bar and into the car. She collapsed in the front seat, setting her feet on the dashboard and leaning the chair back. Her cousin chuckled at her and started the car.

"Hey Laxus," Lucy murmured, tilting her head towards the window. Laxus hummed to tell her he was listening. "Thanks for inviting me here, for introducing me to all these people. I'm really happy to have a family again."

Laxus looked over at Lucy in surprise, but stopped when he saw that she was alseep. He grunted and shook his head, letting a smile take over his face. "It's good to have you in my famiy again, too, Blondie," he murmured, and slowly made his way back home.

When Lucy awoke, she found herself half wrapped in her blankets, with the sun illuminating her room. She frowned in confusion, sitting up and yawning tiredly. She looked around curiously. The last thing she remembered was falling asleep in Laxus's car, but somehow she had ended up in her room. The idea that Laxus carried her up to bed made her blush and feel slighly warm. She couldn't help but think back to what Lisanna and Mira said about their similarity in looks and their coment about them being siblings. Lucy smiled at the thought, but shook it off a second later. She still wasn't even sure that he wanted her there, let alone wanted to become something like that in her life. Still, she was thankful to him for not just leaving her in the car over night.

Lucy let out another yawn and stumbled out of bed, looking down and glad to discover that she was fully clothed in her previous attire. If she had woken up to that surprise, she would've been less thankful to her cousin, and more creeped out.

She glanced at the clock, surprised to see that it was already eleven thirty. She shrugged off her sleepiness and grabbed some loose athletic shorts and a pink tanktop from her drawers. She exchanged her dirty clothes, tossing them in the laundry bin to do later, and headed down stairs. She entered the kitchen, discovering a plate of slightly cold eggs and toast sitting on the counter, a note in front of it. She ignored the cold breakfast, although noting the act of kindness, and picked up the paper.

Gramps and I are going to Blue Pegasus for some business. We won't be back until late, but you better be home and sober by the time we are. Mira will be at the house at 2, don't forget. Be safe, don't drink, see ya later.

Laxus.

Lucy snorted at the mention of her drink and rolled her eyes. Seriously, she thought, one drink is not going to kill me.

Lucy glanced at the eggs disdainfully, poking it, but noticed that even if she microwaved it, it would be too cold to be edible. She sighed and sadly bid the breakfast goodbye as she sent it to the trash, turning and heading to the fridge. She pulled it open and bent down, eyeing its contents. She felt her mouth drop open when there was practically nothing. The only things that the fridge held was a carton of eggs (which, evidently, was completely empty when she opened it up), a half empty milk bottle, a moldy sandwhich, and a small packet of cheddar cheese. Lucy frowned but, seeing no other choice, grabbed the cheese and pulled out a couple of slices. She closed the fridge door with a loud thump, munching on her cheese and looking around the kitchen. She glanced at the clock before shrugging her shoulders and deciding to go on a little adventure.

The blonde managed to kill an hour exploring the house. She ventured through a door and discovered a staircase that led to the basement. She spent half an hour rumaging through boxes, looking at pictures of her mother and uncle as children, along with a younger Marakov. She found a book full of Laxus's baby pictures, and she captured a few on her phone just in case a good opportunity arose. Then she pulled out another book and began looking through, thinking they were her mother's baby pictures. She felt herself freeze when she discovered that the smiling, blonde baby in the photos was not her mother, but rather herself. She sat stunned for a few moments, and then closed the book and left the basement.

Lucy searched through her grandpa's office, finding nothing more than piles of paperwork and a few empty noodle cups. She didn't dare go into his room, although she glanced into Laxus's room. Yup, it was a regular old smelly boy's room, although she tried to ignore the photos of Mira's modeling gigs that were pinned to the walls. Yeah, she didn't even want to know about those.

It was just after twelve thirty when Lucy found herslef grabbing cleaning supplies from the closet and going on a mad cleaning spree. She had vaccuumed the floors, cleaned the wood and glass, fixed up the kitchen and even tidied up Laxus's bedroom. She was currently dragging the trash out of the house, the bulging bag feeling like it weighed a hundred pounds.

"Ugh, why is this so heavy?" She questioned, tugging the bag forward another inch. She begged Kami that the bag would not rip on the sidewalk, as she had absolutely no way to carry it and was not in the mood to pick up the trash with her bare hands.

It seemed Kami was with her, however, as she successfully dragged the bag to the large trash bin without any mishaps. She smiled proudly at her work before awkwardly picking up the heavy bag and all but tossing it into the trash. She dusted her hands off, flicking the lid shut, and turned on a heel back towards the house. She slumped up the stairs, exhausted but proud of her work. She hoped her grandpa and Laxus would appreciate what she'd done.

"Man, I so need a bath," she sighed, crossing the porch and tugging the door open. Well, she tried to open the door. In reality, the thing barely moved under her hand. Lucy blinked in startled surprise and tried to push the door, but it gave the same result. Realization sunk in and she let her forehead fall against the wood, muttering profanities under her breath. "Why, Kami? Why me?" She said loudly, pulling away from the door. She grunted, shifting her sticky, sweaty shirt uncomfortably. The heat had only gotten hotter as she progressed through the day, and the ten minutes she'd already spent outside was not helping. She had also conveniently left her phone inside, so she had no hope of contacting anyone who could help her out.

Lucy sighed and glanced around. She could either wait here on the porch, sweaty and dirty for the next hour, until Mira came and picked her up, or she could try to find another way into the house. Shaking her head, she turned away from the porch and began to circle the house. Lucy tried the back door, but also found it locked. She was surprised to know how secure her grandpa seemed to be, especially considering that he mentioned their neighbor breaking in all the time.

Her neighbor! Lucy turned to glance at the house besides hers, eyeing it carefully. It looked almost exactly like her grandfathers, except that it was made of deep rusty brown bricks. However, her neighbor seemed to be out, as there were no lights on or any cars in the driveway. Lucy sighed, her hope crushed, but as she turned her eyes caught on something. There, up on the small balcony that connected to her grandfather's office. The door into the office was propped open to allow warm air through and out of the house. It was barely noticeable from her previous angle, but she could see it clearly now. A confident smile begin to play on her lips, but was replaced with a frown when she looked around the yard and saw nothing that could help her up there. It wasn't too tall; she only needed a box or something and she would be able to hoist herself up.

Lucy turned and looked around the backyard. There was a garden, like in the front, that was displaying useless vegetables and fruits, a stone fountain in the middle of the grounds that was completely dry, and a shed stuffed in the corner that looked on the brink of collapsing. She frowned, but seeing no other choice, took her chances and made her way to the shed.

The door didn't resist under her hand, practically falling in. She cringed when it crashed against the wall, causing the whole frame to shake. Lucy braced herself, waiting for the inevitable destruction, but the building seemed to settle as some dust rained down on her. She frowned and touched her hair gingerly, pulling it away to see the white plaster that covered her. Now she definitely needed a shower.

Scanning around the small space, it didn't take long for Lucy to spot a wood crate that was tall enough to work. She picked her way across the floor, avoiding any sharp looking objects, and picked up the crate. It was sturdy enough in her hands, although she would test it outside, and empty. Lucy gave it a slight squeeze and, satisfied that it didn't bend under pressure, made her way back outside with the box. She walked across the yard to her previous place under the balcony, and quickly stepped onto the box. Lucy smiled when it held her weight, and reached up to grab the base of the concrete platform. She thanked all those days that Aquarius made her work out, as she begin to pull herself up. Just as her feet lifted from the box however, she felt a shiver run up her back. She was about to go back down and retry when someone yelled. The last things she heard was, "Stop Thief!", before she felt something heavy crash into her and she screamed, falling off the box.


	3. Chapter 3

Lucy felt the wind knocked out of her as the heavy force collided into her side. She was briefly aware of arms wrapping around her waist before she hit the ground. The fall to the dirt wasn't that bad, the box hadn't been that tall, but the weight of the other force crashing on top of her had her gasping. The person, as it obviously was, felt even heavier than the garbage bag. Lucy choked as all the weight fell on her, giving out a little scream.

"Who do you think you are, breaking into Gramps's house?" the person, a male, questioned as he pushed himself off of her. Lucy was about to get up, but stopped as she felt the person grab her arm. Feeling scared and acting on pure instinct, she turned into his grip and let out a yell as her leg slammed into his midsection. The person let out a grunt and his grip loosened enough for her to jam a fist into his throat and squirm away. She scrambled backwards and tilted to her feet, holding her arms out protectively before her. She glared at the man in front of her, considering kicking him again.

"Who do you think you are attacking me like that! I'll have you know this is my house, you psychopath!" she shouted, staring at him. The boy, he wasn't really a man, was bent over as he tried to regain his breath. Lucy's decision to name him a psycho was confirmed as she spotted his spiky, bright pink hair.

"You're the crazy one. This is Gramps's house," the boy fought back, lifting his head to look at her with squinted eyes.

"Yes, and I'm his granddaughter!" she screamed indignantly, rendering the guy in front of her speechless. He examined her for a moment before straightening up. Lucy took another few steps back, feeling significantly less confident as he rose to at least six feet. His eyes relaxed, and she was able to see that they were a dark onyx color, slightly green in the reflection of the sun. They stared at each other for a minute without speaking, Lucy's heart pounding with fear, before he broke out in a wide smile. Lucy was stunned by the change it had in his face. One moment he looked ready to kill, and now he looked like a kid on christmas. She also had to regretfully admit that with his bright, shinning smile he might've, just slightly, looked kind of handsome. Not much.

"So you're Luigi?" he asked, and Lucy balked.

"What? My name is Lucy! What kind of person names a girl Luigi?" she growled, feeling anger heat her stomach. Was he even going to apologize for trying to kill her earlier?

"Hmm, that's what I was wondering," he murmured, rubbing his chin. Lucy felt the intese urge to slap her forehead...or his forehead. Or maybe his face.

"Great, so you know me. Who the hell are you and why did you just attack me?" she pushed.

"It feels more like I'm the one who got attacked. You hit hard for a girl," he muttered, rubbing his stomach gently.

"You''re the one who jumped me!"

"To be fair, you looked kinda suspicious. What were you doing, trying to break into your own house?" The boy asked, looking at her like she was the one in the wrong. Lucy puffed out her cheeks and crossed her arms, not even caring that she looked like a child.

"For your information, I got locked out and was trying to get back in. I would've been just fine if some maniac hadn't come out of nowhere and tackled me," she hissed, glaring. The boy looked at her oddly, as if considering her words, before chuckling.

"Who locks themselves out of their own house?" he laughed, like it was the funniest thing in the world. Lucy felt a tick appear on her forehead.

"I don't have a key!" she shouted, throwing out her arms. "Now tell me who you are before I call the cops!"

The boy swallowed down his laughter, his lips thinning as he tried to hold it in. "Do you even have your phone?" Lucy gave him an unamused look, and he relented with a sigh. "Well, for your information, I was just trying to be a good samaritan by stopping a stranger from robbing my neighbor's house," he informed her, still looking amused.

"Well you—wait. Did you just say neighbor?" Lucy deadpanned, giving him an unbelieving look. This guy could not be—.

"Yup," he confirmed, smirking as he popped the 'p'. Lucy stared at him incrediously.

"You're Natsu?" she asked.

"What's so surprising about that?"

Lucy paused, examining him critically. "You have pink hair," she finally stated, unable to keep her eyes away from it. It was bright, pink, and eye catching. Of course she was going to point it out.

The boy, Natsu, pouted and tugged self consciously at one of his locks of unruly looking hair. "It's salmon. And so what? Yours is blonde."

"Blonde is a normal shade for hair color," Lucy informed him, twirling one strand of hair around her finger. She felt slightly more at ease now that she knew the identity of said boy, although she was still peeved that he had yet to apoligze.

"Oh really? Then how come no one else in this town has blonde hair?" Natsu asked proudly, smiling smugly.

"How would I know? I just moved here two days ago. Besides, how many people in this town have pink hair?" Lucy returned, folding her arms and giving him a silimar look. Natsu frowned at her counter, choosing to ignore her question by asking one of his own.

"Couldn't you have just called someone to help you if you were locked out? You could've headed over to my house. I probably wouldn't have tackled you then."

"Oh, you know, I just love being tackled by strange men," Lucy said sarcastically, shaking her head.

"You're a weirdo." he stated, and Lucy shot him an incredulous look.

"I am not a weirdo! If anyone is weird, it's you!" Lucy denied, pointing an accusitory finger at his face. He frowned, glaring at her.

"No, you're definately the weirdo," he insisted, smiling. "So, what happened Luce?"

"Lucy!" she shouted, but then saw his unwavering smile and sighed, giving up. "I forgot my phone inside and I'm all sweaty from cleaning. Mira is supposed to pick me up at two so i needed a shower, and your house looked empty."

"It was," Natsu agreed, nodding.

"Then why would you ask if I would've gone over there?" She protested in exhaustion, feeling her head spinning as their conversation spun in circles.

"Just wanted to know, I guess," he shrugged it off, much to Lucy's dismay, "You really could use a shower."

"I'm going to murder you," Lucy growled, but he turned away like he didnt even hear her.

"I guess I could let you shower at my house. My sister probably has some clothes that'll fit you," he suggested, gazing towards the house besides hers. Lucy opened her mouth to yell at him for ignoring her, but froze when she registered his words.

"Huh?"

"So you're weird and deaf?" he teased, smirking back at her, his eyes alight with amusement. Lucy felt herself flush, but it was out of anger, not embarrassment. "I said that—"

"I know what you said!" Lucy interrupted, and he gave her a curious look.

"Alright, so what's the problem?" He asked, tilting his head. Lucy was about to mention the fact that it was not proper for girls to shower at boys' houses, let alone a boy whom she had just met, but the words died when she saw his innocent expression. Already having noticed that he wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, Lucy sighed and nodded tiredly.

"Fine, thank you," she murmured, and he brightened up. Lucy fought away the bubbly feeling in her stomach, or the need to smile back. Natsu didn't seem to notice or care as he grabbed Lucy's hand and began dragging her towards his house. She yelled out in protest, but could do little to escape the excited boy's grip as he pulled her to her, very possible, doom.

It turns out Natsu's house was exactly like her Grandfather's, with the exception of it resembling a pig stye. Well, okay, the living room seemed clean from the five second glance she managed to get at it, and the hallway was clear as he dragged her up the stairs. However, his room was a whole other story.

Lucy had been in Laxus's room, so she knew from experience that they were dirty and smelly. Natsu's room took dirty to hoarding, and smell to stench. She could've sworn that the air was thinner inside that death trap than in the rest of the house.

"Ugh! What is that smell?" Lucy gagged, plugging her nose and refusing to breathe. Her eyes watered from the strength of the fumes.

"Huh? I don't smell anything," Natsu dismissed, plopping down on his bed. The matress jumped under his weight, and something bolted from under the clumped blankets. Lucy swallowed a scream as a small (blue?) cat hissed at Natsu and bolted away. She turned to watch as it's tail disappeared around the bend, and silently envied it. "Ah, sorry Happy!" Natsu yelled out to the cat, but his apology was disregarded by a loud hiss. Lucy turned to look back at the boy who rubbed his head shyly. "Sorry about that, Happy gets prickly when i wake him up from his naps."

"You named your cat Happy?" was all Lucy could say. In all honesty, this whole situation was so bizarre that she wouldn't have been surprised if Mira herself suddenly stepped out from behind one of the towering piles of trash.

"Well I wasn't going to go name him something stupid, like Fluffy," Natsu shivered, shaking his head.

"Oh yeah, because Happy is so much better."

"Anyway, the shower is through there," Natsu told her, pointing to some hidden door, ignoring her comment.

"Through there? As in through these piles of trash?" Lucy glanced at the boy who nodded. She took a step back, towards the door, shaking her head. "No thanks, I think I'm fine just like this."

"You look like a snowman," Natsu deadpanned, making Lucy glare at him.

"Don't you have another shower? You know, somewhere not so...smelly?" she asked, trying to think of a nice word to descrbe this horrendous place, but giving up after a moment.

"It's not smelly," Natsu whined, but bit back whatever else he was going to say by the look the blonde gave him. "Fine, fine. There's a bathroom in the hall, two doors down. You can use that."

"Thank you," Lucy sighed, relief filling her chest. "And you said something about, uh, clothes?"

"Oh yeah! I don't know though. Now that I'm getting a better look at ya, I don't think Wendy's clothes will fit you. She's a lot smaller than you," he said, eyeing her body. Lucy narrowed her eyes challenginly.

"Are you calling me fat?"

...

...

"Let me just go get you some clothes," he answered quickly, jumping to his feet and running out the door. Lucy glared after him, but just sighed and shook her head. She instantly regretted it as that horrendous stench filled her nose. Quickly she clapped a hand over her mouth and ran out of the room.

After Natsu gave her some of his Mom's clothes which, surprisingly, weren't that bad, Lucy finally got into the bathroom. She made the mistake of glancing in the mirror and cringed when she caught sight of herself. Natsu was right; she did look like a snowman. A horribly tired, sweaty looking snowman. Lucy groaned, her whole front of her shirt looking like it was painted white, and her hair resembling Mira's with the plastor dust covering it. She looked like a ghost with it sticking to her skin, via her sweat.

Lucy gratefully stripped off her clothes, and stepped into the shower. She turned the water on hot and let her head tilt down as the water pounded soothingly against her back. She was surprised that she didn't feel odd about using some random strangers shower, or the fact that she had only forty minutes until Mira would show up at her house, expecting her to be there. Lucy didn't let it bother her though, telling herself that she could deal with it later.

Lucy washed her hair quickly and rid her body of the sweat. After a quick ten minutes, she stepped out and dried off. She held up the outfit that Natsu had shoved at her, examining it in the mirror. The top was a blue blouse that was designed to hang off the shoulders, and the bottom was a silky black mini-skirt. It wasn't something that Lucy would've typically worn, but it wasn't bad. And it was definately perferable to her chalky tank top and jean shorts, so she pulled the garments on without complaint. The skirt fit her fine, a bit on the shorter side, but the blouse was a little too large. Nothing a few bobby pins couldn't fix, and she found some conviniently sitting on the counter. Another few minutes later, she stepped out with her dirty clothes bundled up in a small white ball, feeling refreshed. She glanced up and down the hall, even risked her life by peeking into his room, but didn't spot Natsu among the piles of trash. Lucy frowned and gingerly headed down the steps. She glanced at the living and dining room, but finding both of those empty as well, she headed into the kitchen.

Something told her she should not have been surprised to find the pinkette munching away on a table full of food. Plates upon plates, a good majority already empty, sat upon the table. The boy responsible for the carnage of the food looked up as she approached, smiling through a mouthful of food. Lucy cringed as he tried to talk, and he swallowed harshly before chuckling.

"You look a lot better," he complimented. "And here I was thinking you were actually a ghost."

"You're hillarious," Lucy rolled her eyes, glancing at the feast laid before him. "Thanksgiving come early?"

"Everyday here is thanksgiving," he agreed, smiling cheekily before holding up a plate of macaroni. "Want some?"

Lucy was about to deny, but her stomach decided to defy her by grumbling. Natsu gave her a knowing look and she glared before grabbing the plate from his hands and settling down on a chair. He chuckled as she tried not to eat the food too eagerly. She sent him a look as she spooned the food into her mouth, swallowing slowly on purpose. He smirked, watching her. "You know, typically this is when someone thanks the other for giving them something."

"Typically, an hour ago, someone would've apologized for attacking someone," Lucy returned evenly, eyeing him over the lip of her plate with raised brows.

"I thought that's what this was," Natsu admitted, motioning around. "You know, letting you come over and shower and all that, but I guess if you want: I'm sorry for mistaking you for a crimminal." He stared at her with an intense look that suddenly had Lucy shifting in her seat.

"Well, I guess your apology can be accepted if," she smirked, "you hand me that bag of chips."

Natsu laughed loudly, a surprised kind of laugh that told her she'd caught him off guard. Lucy smirked back and he tossed the yellow bag of potatoe chips to her with a smile. "You certainly are a weirdo," was all he said before digging back in to his meal. Lucy giggled to herself, deciding that he didn't mean it as an insult, and began munching on some chips.

"So," she started after a moment of silence. It hadn't been awkward, which was a pleasant surprise. Natsu looked up at her, swallowing his mouthful of...whatever monstrosity was on his plate. Lucy tried not to look too closely. "You said you had a sister. Any other siblings?"

Natsu stared down at his food with drawn eyebrows, an odd expression on his face. Lucy was afraid she had crossed some invisible line. She was about to attempt and smooth over the damage she'd created, but then he looked up at her with a smile. She wasn't any expert on smiling, but she could just tell that his was fake. "Nope, just me and Wendy. She's actually my step-sister."

"Oh, your parents got divorced?" Lucy asked, feeling sympathetic.

"No, I never met my mom."

It became silent as Lucy looked at him in shock. His face was perfectly still, waiting for her to continue. She half expected him to look angry or upset, but his face gave away nothing. He wasn't glaring at her or closing off the conversation, so she tentatively prodded forward.

"So your dad and her mom got married?" she asked gently. Natsu turned his head sideways as he thought, his eyes drifting out of focus. She saw his face take on a state of dreaminess as he recalled moments from his past, and Lucy felt bad when he blinked and snapped out of it. He still didn't seem upset however, and he gave her a large smile.

"Yeah, I was only four. Gradneey's pretty much my mom, and they had Wendy together two years after," he told her.

"That seems nice," she said, smiling.

"It was...but then my old man skipped out on us. About a year ago he just left town, no note or nothing. We don't hear from him, but I'm sure he's fine. He was a great fighter back in the day. He was the one who taught me to fight," he explained, his voice cheering up as he puffed out his chest proudly. As he did so, Lucy caught a glimpse of something white hanging around his neck, under his shirt. She frowned and leaned closer, much to the boy's confusion, but he kept still as she examined him.

"I'm sorry to hear about your father. My mother died when I was young, although no one really knows why," she paused and pulled back, looking him in the eyes. "What's under your shirt?"

Natsu blinked at her once, twice, and then three times before breaking out with laughter. "Isn't that something you ask someone after the second date?" Lucy felt herself blush at his implications, and glared at him. He laughed and held his hands up in surrender, although he was still wiggling his eyebrows. It looked ridiculous, the bright pink lines above his eyes doing some funky dance, and Lucy couldn't help but begin to laugh herself.

"Stop doing that, you idiot!" she gasped between spurts, clutching her chest. She had to struggle to breathe, and it didn't help with said idiot laughing at her and promptly ignoring her demands. After a moment, he stopped and another few seconds later, Lucy was back to normal. She was surprised when she felt something wet on her cheeks and moved her hands up to wipe away the tears in her eyes. She stared at them in startled confusion. Had he really made her laugh so hard that she was reduced to tears? That hadn't happened since...well, it'd been a long time.

"Oh no, I didn't mean to make you cry," Natsu chuckled, fully aware that her tears were from laughter, but still smiling gently at her anyway. In responce to her earlier question, he pulled at the white thing under his shirt. Lucy watched with interest as the white object became longer and longer until a long scarf finally escaped from the confines of his shirt. "This was my Dad's. I rarely ever take it off, but it's kinda weird to wear a scarf in summer so I keep it hidden."

Lucy leaned forward, captivated by the sight of the scarf. Upon closer inspection she saw that it was in a checkered pattern that, oddly enough, reminded her of scales. It was white, and had a strong scent of smoke and cinnamon that invaded her nose. She tried not to breathe it in, not wanting Natsu to notice she was smelling, but knowing fully well that this was his scent. She took slight pleasure in the fact that he didn't smell like gross boy. In fact, his smell seemed to fit him rather well. It was a wild, fiery scent that matched his crazy personality. She smiled at that thought.

"All things considered, I find it hard to believe that you let the weather stop you from showing it off," Lucy said, leaning back and smirking up at him. "I didn't take you as one to care much for seasonal wear."

"I'll have you know that I am the greatest fashionista in all of Fiore," Natsu said flippilantly, his voice taking on a higher pitched tone. Lucy realized blatantly that he was trying to impersonate a girl and chuckled. She laughed when he took the scarf and whipped it around his neck, his face set in a serious mask. She leaned over, clapping a hand over her mouth to contain her laughter, and Natsu's act melted away as he stared down at her. He started laughing as well, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.

"I'll take your word for it," Lucy managed, calming down and smiling at him. Her face hurt slightly from the amount of smiling she'd been doing these past few days, but she found the pain rather pleasurable. In fact, even the soft burn in her chest from lack of breath didn't seem to be such a big deal anymore. Part of her felt sad, realizing this was the type of life she'd been missing out on for years, but the happy daze she was in didn't allow her sadness to last. Well, that and the smile Natsu was giving her. Honestly, she should consider wearing sunglasses around this guy. His smile was going to blind her with how much he flashed it.

"Your mom," Natsu said suddenly, cutting Lucy away from her resolvement. She tried not to let the sadness show on her face. If he could allow her to question his family wihtout complaint, then it was only fair she let him do the same. "She's that blonde woman in the photo right? The one up in the spare bedroom?"

Lucy paused before realizing he meant her bedroom, and recalled the photo of her mother that she had asked her cousin if she could keep. It was still sitting on her dresser, smiling down at her bed. "Yeah," she said gently. "She died when I was a little girl. It's just been me and my Dad for a long time." That fact made her a little sad, and it must've shown on her face because suddenly she felt a warm hand on her arm. She looked down, surprised to see Natsu's hand on her arm. His hand was huge compared to her limb, and Lucy noticed with slight fear that he could probably snap her in half as easily as a toothpick. She shook the thought away a second later. Natsu was kind and nice; he'd never hurt her. Even if she'd only known him for an hour, his incredible kindness and the stories she had heard only enforced this fact. As odd as it was, she found herself feeling completely and utterly safe beside this boy. The feeling only increased as his hand gently squeezed her arm. He's comforting me, she realized amusedly. She looked up, finding him smiling at her encouragingly. She sighed and thought 'why the hell not' before beginning to talk.

Natsu listened attentively as she talked about her life back in Crocus. It really only took about ten minutes, but it felt like hours. Lucy told him about her father and their lacking relationship, the way he distanced himself in his office, and even found herself admitting that sometimes she thought he blamed her for her mother's death. She talked about their servants, her tone loving as she spoke. She briefly explained how she was rarely ever allowed to leave home. She even caught herself telling him stories about her mother, but he never seemed to mind. She was surprised that he seemed to be paying attention, and he never interrupted her speech. She had taken him to be an impatient, toss in what's on his mind type of person. He stayed completely still as she spoke however, and even after she had finished he was silent. Lucy began to get nervous in the silence.

"I'm sorry, I just tossed all that crap onto you and we've barely known each other an hour," Lucy said suddenly, wanting to smack herself at her foolishness. She hoped he didn't think she was really some weirdo now, but she was surprised when she was suddenly engulfed by a tight embrace. His scent seemed to rush around her, filling her senses as she breathed in shock. Natsu was wrestling her! No...he was hugging her? Lucy really needed to stop confusing the two.

"Don't say that," he murmured into her hair, his warm breath breezing past her face and causing her to blush. "I'm glad you were able to trust me enough to talk to me. It sounds hard," he pulled away slightly, smiling at her as she stared up at him in surprise. "I'm really glad you moved here, Luce!"

"Me too," Lucy whispered, pushing away the urge to cry. Perhaps he could somehow manage to deal with all her feelings, but there was no way in hell she was going to start crying in front of him.

"I'm also glad to be friends with you, Luce," he told her, smiling even wider, if that was possible.

"Friends?" Lucy asked uncertainly.

"Well, I hope you weren't expecting to go back to being strange neighbors after this?" Natsu chuckled smirking at her. "So I listened to you, now I want you to listen to me."

Lucy didn't even realize it was two o'clock, she was so caught up talking with Natsu. She found that, although he was lacking in some common sense, he was a great conversationalist and very funny. She couldn't help but feel at ease around him, and the giddy feeling in her stomach did not let up as they talked. He told her about some of his friends; Gray, Erza, and Levy, and explained in great detail about Laxus's "groupees". Lucy found herself laughing at everything he said, and he smiled largely at her in turn. He talked about his father, the "Fire Dragon" fighter, and told her upon asking that he never knew his mother, but only had favorable things to say about Gradeeny, his step-mom. They eventually migrated away from the kitchen and into the living room, situating themselves on the couch so they could still look at each other and relax. He mentioned his little sister, Wendy, and at some point Happy decided to come back over. Lucy discovered that, yes, he was blue; curtesy of Gray and a bottle of hair dye. For a while, the little cat sat on a cushion of his own and watched them converse, but after a few minutes he ran across the couch and settled himself on her lap. They both froze, Natsu pausing in his latest story of a prank he had pulled on Gray, and stared down at the blue cat that was beginning to rub itself contently against her stomach.

"Luce, don't move," Natsu said lowly, holding out his hands in warning. Lucy looked up at him with furrowed brows before gently petting the small blue cat. Natsu stiffened, his eyes widened with fear, but they narrowed in confusion when the cat gave a loud purr and rolled onto his back.

"He seems more like a dog than a cat," she laughed, rubbing his small stomach gently in tiny circles. His tail swirled by her leg, tickling her skin as it moved.

"He's letting you pet him...he's purring..." Natsu murmured in a daze, staring between her and the cat in amazement. "Are you a wizard?"

"What?" Lucy shrieked in confusion. The cat whined when she stopped her ministrations, head butting her hand impatiently. Lucy replaced her hand, still looking at Natsu.

"Happy doesn't let anyone touch him except me and Wendy. He hisses and bites everyone else," he admitted, rubbing his head sheepishly before giving her a large smile. "I guess he likes you."

"I guess so," Lucy chuckled, silently wondering how such a sweet little thing could be evil. Natsu and Lucy smiled at each other for a minute, feeling no awkwardness whatsoever. In fact, Lucy felt the most content she had ever been since her mother had died. The realization sent a wave of shock through her, and as she opened her mouth to say something. She was cut off however, by a voice from outside.

"NATSU!" a shrill, somewhat familiar voice shouted, followed by harsh knocking. Natsu jumped, snapped out of his reviere, and stumbled off the couch. "Natsu! Open the door this instance!"

"Hold up, I'm coming," he said back, disappearing from the room. Lucy placed a hand on her chest, surprised to feel it beating harshly beneath her fingertips. She shook her head and looked up as a very worried Mira and a startled looking Natsu came back into the room.

"...and now she's not answering the door, and what if she was kidnapped or she doesn't want to—" Mira froze when she spotted the blonde sitting on the couch, blue cat purring in her lap. She also looked startled at the scene, but the look was painted over with relief as she looked at Lucy. "Oh, Lucy!" and before the blonde could comprehend, she was once again being dragged into a wrestling match with Mira. Lucy gasped, the air knocked out of her lungs for the second time that morning, and gently pat the girl on the back. Happy let out a hiss from being squished and wriggled out of the embrace. He sent a disdainful look at the white haired girl before scampering off.

"Good to see you too, Mira," Lucy choked out.

"Why the hell are you here? Whose clothes are you wearing? Why didn't you call me or Laxus? Why do you smell like plaster? Why—"

"Mira, you need to relax and stop trying to kill the girl," Natsu cut the panicking girl off, and Mira jumped away like Lucy had burned her, giving her a bashful look.

"Funny, coming from you," Lucy turned towards Natsu.

"Oh come on, I thought you were over that," he sighed, running a hand through his hair. Lucy chuckled at his expression.

"Um, am I missing something here?" Mira asked, looking between the two.

"Mira, this is Lucy, Lucy this is Mira," Natsu introduced, motioning a hand between the two. Mira smiled in amusement while Lucy sighed.

"Natsu, I know who Mira is," she reminded him gently, and he flushed before nodding.

"Right," he laughed, rubbing his arm, "I forgot."

"You two seem to know each other? I thought you said you didn't meet anyone yet, Lucy?" Mira asked, giving Lucy a 'look' that the blonde could not decipher.

"I kinda bumped into her...literally," He admitted shyly.

"He attacked me is what he means to say," Lucy corrected, giving him a look that dared him to disagree.

"Natsu!" Mira admonished, "You know it's dangerous for you to attack girls!"

"To be fair, I thought she was trying to break into gramp's house," he fought back, glancing at the blonde. "'sides, she hurt me more than I hurt her. Got me right in the throat."

"You can fight?" Mira asked in surprise, although Lucy couldn't help but feel that the girl was slightly relieved. Once again, Lucy wondered what was wrong with this town.

"I know slef-defense, although I wouldn't exactly call myself the front runner," she revealed, shrugging. She had convinced Capricorn to teach her self-defense and a few attack skills without her father's knowledge. He was more than happy to teach her, pleased to know that she would be able to handle herself even when he wasn't around. She guessed he was really grateful for that now.

"That's okay, it's a better start than most," Natsu assured her with a big smile. She smiled back, unable to help it, but then frowned in confusion.

"Start to what?"

"To fighting, obviously," he rolled his eyes, smirking. "I'm gonna teach you how to fight."

It was silent as both Mira and Lucy stared blankly at the boy, jaws dropped. Natsu looked at them evenly, feeling a little fear as he glanced between them, but not backing down. Lucy had shown him promise, and in this town you were expected to take care of yourself. Of course he would still protect her, he didn't know why but he would, but he would feel better knowing she would be okay alone. He had also seen the Fairy Tail mark on her hand, much to his chagrin, and knew that if any of their rivals saw it she would be in big trouble. The thought upset him.

"You are not making her into another Erza," Mira suddenly proclaimed, shaking her head so her white hair spun wildly. "No, no, NO! Absolutely not!"

"You don't have to worry about that," Natsu dismissed, smiling, "her kicks are already Erza-worthy."

"Um, thanks?" Lucy murmured in confusion, unsure if that was a compliment or an insult. She thought it was both, gauging from the expressions on the two's faces.

"No, Lucy is a sweet and innocent girl, and I will not have you corrupt her with your insane need to fight every living thing!" Mira fought, her eyes bright with anger.

"Too late for that. You already marked her, Mira," Natsu deadpanned, and the white-haired girl froze. All eyes darted down to Lucy's right hand where her newly aquired mark was still visible. Feeling uncomfortable, Lucy clasped her hands and hid the mark from view.

"You're from Fairy Tail as well?" Lucy asked, and then wanted to smack herself. Of course he was from Fairy Tail. Natsu didn't seem to notice her stupidity, only nodding his head in response.

"I think she should learn. I mean it can't hurt," he continued, but his face already said that his mind was made up. Lucy was still uncertain with his sudden change of attitude; all the fun in the air seemed to have froze over.

"With you as her teacher, I'm sure you'll find a way," Mira responded tensely, turning to the blonde. "I think the responsibility of teaching her, if she wants to, should fall upon Laxus. Don't you agree?"

"My cousin?"

"Laxus?!"

Natsu and Lucy paused, glancing at each other before both shaking their heads at Mira.

"He'll never let me," Lucy said, although she didn't know why. Something in the back of her mind just said that he wouldn't take to her fighting sitting down.

"He'll destroy her is more like it," Natsu followed up, glancing up at down her body. "She's like a stick."

"And you won't?" Mira exclaimed, running a hand down her face. "Natsu, you know how you get when you fight. You'll end up hurting Lucy without even meaning to."

"No I won't," he scoffed, like it was the most preposterous thing he'd ever heard.

"Natsu! You get too carried away when you fight. You'll hurt her!" Mira protested, and Lucy shrunk back from the look on the girl's face. Natsu also shuddered, but swallowed and held his ground with a glare of his own. Lucy watched the two's stare-off in silence. Comparing the two, Mira's definitely looked scarier, but Natsu had a determined set to his jaw that told Lucy he wouldn't be giving up any time soon. She wondered why he wanted to teach her so much, but decided to just be grateful and accept it. She's always wanted to learn to fight, so what if it came from some strange pink haired boy she'd only known an hour? It was free, and that was all that mattered.

"Mira," Lucy said gently, and both teens snapped their heads up to look at her. She gulped at the looks on their faces, but steadied herself. "I trust your opinion, but I think Natsu's right. I mean, clearly you're all acting like I need to learn to fight."

"Being a part of Fairy Tail is no joke, Lucy," Natsu said quietly, frowning. "I'm surprised Laxus even let you join."

"And why wouldn't he?" Mira countered before Lucy could open her mouth. "Lucy's as much a part of Fairy Tail as you or me. Even more so, considering Master is her grandfather."

"Mira, you know how dangerous things can get," Natsu said.

"Oh, you mean all those rival bars you were talking about?" Lucy asked, tilting her head to the side curiously. He looked a little startled at her knowledge before casting a sidelong glance at Mira.

"Yeah, the bars do pose a problem, but I was more so referring to school. Unfortunately us fairies tend to be pretty competitve, and if people know you're connected to Fairy Tail, that could pose some threat," he explained.

"Then I'll learn," Lucy said quickly, just as Mira opened her mouth to prepare some sort of argument. "I'll learn how to fight."

"Lucy, if you don't want to then—"

"It's fine, Mira," Lucy assured her with a light laugh. she wasn't sure why she wasn't freaking out; these people she'd barely known a few hours had just told her that she'd inadvertently joined some sort of gang and the probability of being attacked was high, but all she could picture was the smiling faces of the people at Fairy Tail. She thought of Kinana, of Lisana, of Mira, Laxus, Natsu, and all the people she had yet to meet. The thought of leaving them made her heart burn inexplicably. "I don't want to leave Fairy Tail."

Natsu and Mira watched her for a moment with the same odd look on their faces. It took Lucy a second to realize that it wasn't disappointment, rather..pride? Yes, she was assured, as Natsu smiled largely at her. "Only been a part of the family a day and you're already a true fairy," he chuckled. "Man am I glad that I met you before the stripper did."

"Stripper?" Lucy questioned, but he just laughed and clapped her firmly on the shoulder.

"So what do ya say, Luce? We'll start tomorrow?" he questioned, raising his eyebrows questioningly. Lucy stared at him for a second before smiling back, her chest feeling light.

"We'll see," she smiled, and he smiled back. Lucy didn't even realize they were still smiling at each other until Mira coughed, snapping them back into reality. Lucy flushed and looked away, rubbing the back of her neck. Natsu coughed awkwardly, turning to Mira. She smirked at the two of them, her expression amused.

"AS cute as you two are, we're wasting daylight. You said you wanted to meet the rest of Fairy Tail, didn't you?" Mira asked, glancing at Lucy. Lucy nodded her head, smiling.

"Yes, definitely," she agreed.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Mira asked, motioning to the blonde.

"Are you going too, Natsu? You can come with us," Lucy offered, stopping and turning back towards the pinkette.

"Ah, don't worry about me. I don't, uh, do well with um, transportation," he murmured, blushing and scratching his head.

"Really?" Lucy asked curiously, glancing between the boy and girl.

"Natsu suffers from a rare case of motion sickness that occurs when on transportation," Mira explained to the confused blonde. "Cars, trains, busses, planes; you name it."

"Just thinking about it hurts," Natsu groaned, and Lucy noticed with interest that his skin seemed paler.

"He'll catch up with us later," Mira assured.

"Yeah, you go meet the others. They're great people," Natsu agreed, swallowing thickly. He looked better now that the topic had strayed from moving objects.

"I guess I'll just have to see for myself, won't I?" Lucy joked, smirking.

"Then get your butt down there," Natsu told her, pushing her forward.

"What about you? Are...are you going to be there?" she asked quietly. He smiled in response.

"I'll be there before you," he assured her confidently.

"Natsu's fast," Mira backed him up.

"The fastest," he agreed, puffing his chest out proudly. Lucy couldn't help but laughing at his ridiculous expression, but she managed to cover it with her mouth.

"I'll take your word for it," Lucy managed after a second, smiling at the pinkette. "See you then."

"Try not to take too long," the boy joked, waving as the two girls exited his house. Mira chuckled under her breath and Lucy rolled her eyes as they made their way to Mira's car.

"There's no way he's going to beat us," Lucy said, plopping into the front seat with a sigh. "Right?"

"I wouldn't doubt Natsu," Mira warned lightly, turning and smiling at the blonde. "It might just be the last thing you do."

"Ha ha," Lucy said sarcastically, but couldn't help the small seed of doubt from filling her chest. Mira had already tried to persuade her from training with Natsu, claiming that the pinkette was dangerous in battle, and now she was making half-hearted jokes about it. Lucy wasn't sure what to believe or feel, but decided that the confusion wasn't worth her time. Eventually she'd understand, and maybe she'd make a different choice if she knew more, but for now Natsu was going to become her personal trainer. She smiled to herself as Mira pulled out of the driveway and took off towards Fairy Tail.

Thankfully Mira's mind seemed to be on other things as they drove, and she didn't question Lucy too much. She still managed to give the blonde an earful about how close the two seemed to be, but after a few minutes of little to no response from Lucy, she seemed to give up. Something told Lucy she hadn't really given up, but she took what she could get and enjoyed ten minutes of popular songs playing from Mira's radio.

The white-haired girl seemed to come back to life as Fairy Tail came into view. A large smile lit up her face and she began rambling excitedly about all the people Lucy was going to meet. Lucy managed to catch a couple of familiar names, but they were lost in the tidal wave of people that Mira was spitting out. She sighed, already feeling an oncoming headache and weeks of confusion, but couldn't help but feel excited herself. She was pumped to meet her new family and, from the looks of it, Natsu was nowhere in sight.

"Fast, huh?" Lucy chuckled to herself as the two girls climbed out of the car and towards the bar. Mira smirked and gave the blonde a knowing look, but didn't say anything as she pushed the door open. Much to the blonde's relief, no chair came flying at her face.

The first thing that Lucy noticed as she peered into the room was the significant lack of people. The abundance of drunkards from the previous day had been halved, and many of the people there she did not recognize. She remembered what Mira had said about only certain days allowing normal people in, and spotted a few familiar people. The two men who'd been smoking the night before were both still smoking, although now they were joined by a larger man with long orange hair and the boy with the broom. The girl who'd been drunk from the other night was there too, sitting on the table with a...barrel? Lucy paled at the sight, confirming it as the girl picked up the whole thing and chugged mouthful after mouthful of the stuff.

"Don't worry about Cana, we only give her grape juice during the day," Mira whispered in her ear, noticing where her attention was focused.

"I see," Lucy murmured, shocked. Mira giggled and turned away, towards the bar. Lucy followed after her quickly.

A few people called out hello's to Mirajane as she passed by, which she politely returned. The most shocking thing however, was that no one seemed to give Lucy a second glance. The blonde frowned, not sure wether they were being kind or just flat out ignoring her. She really hoped it was the first, not exactly keen to the idea of her "family" showing no interest in her on day one.

"Good Afternoon, Kina!" Mira called out to the purple haired bar tender. Lucy felt slight relief, knowing she would be talking to someone who would at least look at her.

"Afternoon Mira, Lucy," Kinana replied, swiping the inside of a beer glass. The bar was completely empty, much to Kinana's obvious relief, and she gave each girl a large smile.

"Not much business today, huh?" Lucy asked, sliding onto one of the stools and placing her elbows against the cool wood counter. Kina chuckled, setting the glass down, and shaking her head before gazing out at the floor.

"Everyone here pretty much serves themselves. It's just on the open days that it gets really busy," she explained, smiling at the blonde who nodded in understanding. Lucy was about to ask Kinana something else when she heard someone shout her name, or rather her nickname.

"Hey Luce!" an all too familiar voice called out, and Lucy didn't even have time to turn around before Natsu was beside her, his arm cast over her shoulders like it was a completely normal thing. Lucy choked in surprise at his sudden appearance, sharply turning her head towards him.

"Natsu?!" she asked, glancing around the guild. It seemed as if everyones attention had suddenly turned towards them, and Lucy found herself wishing they'd go back to ignoring her. She would've shrunk under their gaze if the pinkette did not have her in such a tight embrace.

"Is that Natsu with a girl?!"

"Man, I thought I'd never see the day."

"What a manly thing to do!"

"Who is she?"

"Is she a new member of Fairy Tail?"

"I thought she was just confused and came in for directions."

So the last one explained why everyone'd ignored her, but the others only made her flush. What was so odd about Natsu being with her, beside the fact that he had his arm around her and was hugging her and...okay, she saw where they were comign from.

"Natsu! Get off of me!" Lucy hissed, pushing off his arm. She meant to shove him really, but his arm felt so heavy that she ended up having to slip away more than anything.

"What's wrong with you?" Natsu asked, folding his arms and frowning. Lucy was still painfully aware of the other's eyes on her, and she shifted awkwardly, her face hot with anger and embarassment.

"How did you get here?" She questioned him, and his expression slipped into an easy smirk.

"Ran here, obviously. I told you that earlier, Weirdo," he said, rubbing her head kindly. Lucy balked at his boldness, and slapped his hand away. She smoothed out her ruffled hair, glaring at him.

"I mean how are you here now?" She clarified.

"I told you that too. You didn't really doubt my speed, did you?" he sounded honestly astonished, like that had never happened before. Lucy wanted to slap her head.

"Theres no way you got here so quickly! It took us seven minutes by car," Lucy protested, unbelieving.

"I got here in four. You were the ones who came late," he scoffed, glancing away.

"What? You got here before us?" Lucy shrieked in surprise.

"Yup," he said proudly.

"I didn't see you at all," Lucy deadpanned. Natsu pouted, but then lit up as he realized something.

"That's because I was knocked out!" he sounded happy to have figured out the situation.

"Knocked...out?" Lucy sweatdropped, just as she felt a dark presence aappear from behind her. Natsu's eyes widened in fear and Lucy stiffened, shivers running up her back.

"Natsu," the voice rumbled, although it sounded odd to Lucy, "Who is this girl?"

"T-This is Lucy," NAtsu said wihout hesitation, grabbing Lucy by the shoulders and turning her. He pulled her towards him, ducking behind her and using her as a shield to the evil force. Lucy frowned. Some friend, she thought, before looking at the source of her fear.

Lucy felt herself freeze as she stared at the red head before her. She felt the fear drain away, replaced with amazement at the sheer beauty of the girl before her. She was tall and certainly lethal looking, she looked like she could take care of herself well in a fight, but she had an overall aura of kindness. Her brown eyes seemed a little stiff, but they grew warmer when they connected with Lucy's.

"Hello Lucy, you must be the Master's granddaughter," she said, her voice smooth with a bit of a proper accent to it. Lucy couldn't recognize the exact location, but she felt herself smile regardless.

"It seems so," she agreed and paused, examining the girl. "I'm afraid I don't know your name."

"Erza Scarlet," the girl said, extending a hand.

"You're Erza?" Lucy balked, very aware of Natsu still quivering behind her.

"Yes?" Erza said, looking confused at Lucy's reaction. The blonde quickly shook away her surprise and smiled largely, accepting her hand.

"I'm sorry, I've just heard so much about you. I didn't expect you to be so pretty," Lucy admitted, blushing slightly. Erza also looked surprised, pausing in her hand shake, before smiling back. Lucy thought her smile just made her adorable.

"Nor did I expect you to be so beautiful. I was sure you would be ugly with Laxus and Master as your family, but you are quite stunning," Erza said, dropping her hand. Lucy sweated slightly at her blunteness, but took the compliment regardless.

"Yeah, I suppose I got the better end of the deal," she agreed with a giggle. Erza laughed as well.

"Ah, Erza, I see you've met Lucy," Mira said, appearing suddenly. Lucy hadn't even realized she'd been missing until she popped up, but the blonde was glad for her presence.

"Indeed. I see she is already a member," Erza glanced at Lucy's hand, the one with the pink mark.

"Yup!" Mira said cheerfully. "She came by last night and we marked her."

"So you have yet to meet the guild?" Erza clarified, turning back to the blonde.

"No, not yet," she agreed, smiling slightly. Erza nodded and, without warning, grabbed her hand and began dragging her away. She squeaked at the tight grip on her arm, and heard Natsu shout in alarm when his shield was suddenly taken away, but she was more focused on the red head.

"Uh, Erza, what are you doing?" Lucy asked nervously. The red head didn't respond as she dragged the blonde between tables and towards the revealed stage. Lucy caught the sad stares being given to her by the other people, and managed to catch the eye of one girl. The girl was small and skinny, clad in a light orange dress and with curling blue hair. She was surrounded on either side by two boys, each tall and looking at her intently. The girl's eyes widened as they connected with Lucy's, but as she opened her mouth to say something, Lucy was being yanked up the stairs.

Lucy had to tell herself that Erza was not trying purposely to be so crude, but her arm disagreed as the girl nearly dislocated it, bringing her to the microphone on the stage. She tapped the top, the sound echoing, in attempt to gather everyones attention, but there was no need as everyone's eyes were already focused on the pair. Lucy gazed around the room nervously, catching sight of Natsu standing beside a shirtless dark haired boy. Both were looking at them with cringes, although they showed no intention of coming to save her. Lucy was going to beat him up later for that.

"Attention Everyone!" Erza called out, her voice carrying through the sound system. "I would like to introduce our newest guild member, family member, and friend; Lucy!" The red turned to Lucy with a large smile. Lucy gulped nervously and awkwardly smiled at the crowd. This was so not how she wanted to meet her family, but it didn't seem to matter as everyone was on their feet and cheering within seconds. Lucy blinked in surprise while Erza smiled at her knowingly. Everyone clapped and hollared, some whistling and others laughing, before they began shouting out loud welcomes towards her. Lucy was at first startled by the scene and attention, but towards the end she could feel her heart warming as her smile became less forceful and more joyful.

Her eyes scanned through the crowd of foreign faces, and she found herself thinking that they wouldn't be strangers for much longer. She smiled at the thought, a bubbly warm feeling filling her chest. Her eyes caught those of a familiar pinkette, who waved when he noticed her attention on him. He flashed her one of those brilliant smiles, and even the boy beside him smirked up at her, giving a small wave. She waved back in return and turned to look at the tall redhead beside her. Erza was glancing between her and the crowd, a satisfied and proud look on her face. Lucy approached her tentatively, causing the red's brown eyes to lock on to her.

"Thank you," Lucy started off, smiling gratefully. "If you wouldn't mind though, do you think you can introduce me to some people?"

"You mean introduce people to you? Of course I will, but I'm sure most of the guild will greet you on their own time. We're a bit odd that way," she admitted, gently taking Lucy's arm in her grip and leading her off the stage. Lucy was glad that her arm wasn't threatened this time as they decsended the steps.

Lucy let Erza drag her back towards the bar, waving to a few people as she passed by. She spotted the blue haired girl from earlier, but she seemed preoccupied ignoring the two boys talking on either side of her while she read her book. Lucy tried to get a glance at the title, but Erza pulled her away before she could look. She decided she would just ask the girl about it later, and use it as an excuse to start a conversation and perhaps make a new friend. She figured anyone who attempted to read in such a loud atmosphere must be a serious reader. She looked forward to meeting someone else who shared her passion for words.

"If it isn't the star herself!" Kina shouted as the blonde approached, drawing the Strauss siblings away from whatever they'd been talking about. Mira smiled as Lucy and Erza approached, her eyes glinting in that knowing way.

"Not so scary are we," she said when they stopped before the bar. Kina and Liz chuckled, while Erza rolled her eyes and Lucy shrugged.

"I dunno," Lucy sighed, "You certainly are an intimidating bunch."

"That's a very different story," Mira laughed.

"Hey Luce!" A cheery, familiar voice called from behind her. Lucy sighed a long breath and turned on a heel, sending Natsu a cruel smile. The pink haired boy's happy face dropped like a brick, and his running gallop skid to a stop. That didn't work out too well for the person behind the pinkette, as he smashed into Natsu's back with a grunt. Natsu jerked forward on the impact, his eyes wide in confusion as he tilted forward. Lucy squeaked when he came tumbling towards her, but couldn't step back as the bar was preventing it. Too late to move elsewhere, she tucked in on herself and closed her eyes, praying to Kami that the heavy boy did not smash into her for the second time that day.

Lucy felt the whoosh of air from Natsu's body, and she certainly could feel the sweltering temperature of his body heat, but all of this passed over her like wind. Nothing physically touched her, except for the soft piece of clothing that smelled distinctly like Natsu (campfire and cinnamon) that was brushing just barely against her nose. She squirmed at the feeling of the fabric tickling her nose, and leaned back slightly as she opened her eyes. She was greeted by Natsu's incredible smile, which just about blinded her, and his face practically inches from hers. The close contact sent her heart into overdrive, and she wouldn't have been surprised if he could hear it with the racket it was making in her chest.

"Whew," he breathed out in relief, his warm breath fanning over her face and causing her pulse to jump. Was he trying to give her a heart attack? She certainly seemed to think he was. "That was close."

"It's still close," Lucy gasped, her mind spinning as his scent practically shoved itself up her nose. She blew a soft breath from her mouth, moving the strings of his partially exposed scarf away from her face. "Too close."

"Ah, yeah, sorry," he blushed, at least she thought he did, and pushed away from the bar. Lucy hadn't even realized he'd stopped himself by grabbing the bar, effectively trapping her between his arms. The thought sent shivers up her spine and had her blood roaring in her ears. Seriously, she needed to see a doctor.

Natsu pulled away another step, ensuring she had enough space, and turned to face the rest of the group. They were all staring with a different expression on each of their faces. Kina looked pure surprised, Liz looked confused and a little upset, Mira looked positively delighted, and the boy who'd caused the situation to occur looked...angry?

"Dammit Natsu, why'd you have to stop like that?" The boy complained, folding his arms over his...bare...chest. Lucy felt her mouth drop open, staring at the half naked boy before her. The newcomer was handsome, as seemed to be common occurance in the boys of Magnolia. He had inky black hair, so dark she wondered if it were dyed, cold dark blue eyes, and a six pack. Yes, the boy had a freaking six pack. Lucy was positive at that point that Fairy Tail would be the death of her. She didn't think it would be all too bad though, dying with this glorious six pack in front of her.

Okay, so she kind of had a thing for abs, but what girl didn't? They were hot.

"What's that stripper? You were the one who ran into me!" Natsu protested, glaring at the boy. Lucy could visualy see the fight rising around them. She could imagine the flames around the pinkette, surrounding him like some devil-spawn, while the black haired boy seemed to blow off waves of chilly air. Their auras seemed to hit each other head on, and Lucy was surprised to see that when she blinked away the fantasy, they were actually forehead to forehead.

"Well I wouldn't have if you hadn't suddenly stopped like a dimwit," the boy fought back, pushing against Natsu. Natsu shoved back right away, and they began to fight for dominance while tossing out insults at each other. Lucy caught the sound of 'flame Brain' and was nearly positive she heard 'ice princess' being tossed out more than once.

"Um, should someone be stopping them," Lucy asked doubtfully, turning back to the other girls.

"Don't mind them, they do this all the time," Mira waved it off, the others nodding in return.

"Besides, Erza will stop them if they get too out of hand," Kina assured the blonde, who still looked doubtful.

"How often does that happen?" Lucy queered. The girls exchanged a look.

"Well, how is your first day at Fairy Tail going so far, Lucy," Erza said eliquintly, changing the subject with little subtlety. Lucy blinked in surprise and then smiled slightly.

"It's going very well so far, thank you Erza," she replied politely. Erza nodded and Lucy took the moment of silence to point at the fighting boys over her shoulder. They were now tossing punches at each other, although Erza had yet to step in so Lucy had to assume that this was still 'in hand'. She didn't really want to know what classified as out of hand. "Who is the half naked one."

"Oh, that's Gray," Liz spoke up, giggling. "Natsu calls him the stripper."

"Ah, so that's him!" Lucy gasped, turning around to examine the boys again. Somehow they'd ended up on the floor in the minute she'd turned away. Lucy sweatdropped.

"The one and only," Kina sighed, tossing her dark purple locks over her shoulder. Lucy was about to ask what she meant, but Mira cut her off by calling out to the boys.

"Gray, come over here and introduce yourself to Lucy," the white haired girl yelled out, pulling the two boys attention away from the fight. They begrudgingly seperated and headed over to the girls. Lucy balked when Gray stepped in front of her, extending a hand out with a smirk.

"Hey there Lucy, I'm Gray Fullbuster," he introduced, and it would've been a fine introduction if he just...

"Where the hell are your pants?!" Lucy exclaimed, clapping her hands over her eyes while feeling her cheeks heat up incredibly.

"Huh?" Gray replied dumbly. Lucy peeked through her fingers to see Natsu begin to laugh, and the dark haired boy freak out as he looked down and discovered his pants were missing. "Ah, how'd that happen?"

"Just put some pants on," Lucy whined, turning away to frown at the girls' giggling faces.

"Uh, could I borrow yours?" Gray questioned, holding a hand out to the blonde.

"What?" Natsu growled suddenly, his laughter gone.

"WHAT?!" Lucy screeched, before promptly smacking him. He fell to his butt with a thud, looking stunned. Lucy turned away, still unwilling to see his bare body. It wouldn't have been so bad for a normal boy to loose his pants, in fact she wouldn't have minded it at all, except for the fact that Gray Fullbuster was clearly no normal boy. What led her to this discovery? The unnessesary tidbit she now knew about Gray.

Gray Fullbuster did not wear underwear.

"Ouch, that hurt," Gray complained, rubbing his sore cheek. He glared at the pinkette who was smirking down at him.

"And you burned my eyes," Lucy returned, avoiding looking at the boy. "We're even."

"Hmph," Gray huffed, but he smiled up at the blonde. He hadn't really believed Natsu when he'd told him about how she'd nearly taken him out earlier that day, but now he knew the pinkette hadn't been lying. This girl was tough. "That was a pretty good hit, you know, for a girl."

"And that's a pretty small dong, you know, for a dude," she returned instantly, glaring at him over her shoulder before her eyes widened and she looked away again. He felt his mouth drop open at her insult and Natsu burst into heavy laughter from behind him.

"Oh god, Luce!" The fire idiot gasped, slapping his knee. "You are the greatest!" The blonde blushed slightly at his comment, before glaring and telling him to go find Gray some pants. Natsu complained about having to do anything for 'the stripper' and she told him that if he didn't, then she would tell Erza what he called her behind her back. That had the pinkette racing for the storeroom, and had Gray chuckling. He should've been scared, really, because he had also actively participated in Erza's nickname, and something told him the blonde knew that, but all he could do was laugh. The girl was funny. She was there for less then a day, and already she knew how to work the Firetard. He admired her while she steadily ignored looking at him.

She was pretty, with that long blonde hair, big doe brown eyes, and her body was hell-a amazing, but she had already proven that she was not one of those bitchy white girls that cried if you so much as called them a name. She was Fairy Tail material, he admitted to himself. Something about her seemed familiar though. He couldn't place it, but something about the set of her jaw, the determined aura around her, and her hair seemed to pick at his brain.

"So how'd you come across Fairy Tail?" he asked finally, wondering if that would explain it. She knew better than to look at him, instead keeping her eyes locked on the bar. The other girls were quiet, watching the show go on with amusement on their faces. Gray thought their look was like that of a starving dog. They were always hungry for more gossip.

"MY Cousin and Grandpa," she shrugged, like that explained it.

"She's Master's granddaughter and Laxus's cousin," Mira explained to him, and he felt the realization hit him like a brick. Of course she was related to the two scariest and most well-respected men in fairy tail. He connected it then; the same blonde hair, the air of importance around them. Her whole aura practically screamed Dreyar.

And he realized where he really recognized her from. She looked almost completely like the woman in that photo up in Laxus's spare bedroom, the one him and the Flametard were forced to share from time to time. Of course the woman in that photo was too old to be Lucy, and Gray had always assumed it was just Laxus's mom. Clearly though he was wrong. The woman in the photo was Lucy's mother, that much was clear. Laxus's aunt.

"What d'ya know," he shrugged nonchalantly, giving the blonde a lazy smirk she did not see since she still refused to look at him. Her aura of bashfullness was like a fresh breeze in a stifling room. He thought having a girl as innocent as Lucy around would be nice. The girls at Fairy Tail were like vicious animals, and they were far too used to his naked form to be embarassed about it. He also wondered how long it would take for the innocence to be corrupted, and the thought made him a little sad. He pushed it away however. "So you're considering joining up with us, then?"

"Didn't you listen to the announcement?" She replied, holding out her right hand to him. He thought for a minute that she was offering him a hand up, and he was about to decline when his eyes caught on the pink mark that decorated her skin. "I'm already a member."

"Wow, that fast huh?" Gray whistled, silently wondering what Laxus was thinking. Must've been drunk, he concluded. Or, he thought with a shiver, he had Mira with him. "So how'd you meet flamebrain?" He wanted to know if the story that the pink haired weasel had spun was true.

"He attacked me," she deadpanned, looking none too pleased at this fact. Gray nodded, already hearing the explination of how the idiot thought she was a robber. His question; what kind of a robber tried to sneak in through the balcony wearing completely regular clothes with their face revealed to everyone passing by. Sometimes, he truly thought that Natsu was hopeless.

"And I heard you tore him a new one," Gray prompted, quite interested in this part. Lucy blushed at the implication of his words, but then she laughed and shook her head.

"He gives me more credit than I deserve. I hit his throat and managed to get in a kick. It's not like he went down or anything crazy like that," she brushed off the compliment dismissively, like she didn't appreciate the attention on her. "If he really wanted to hurt me, I'm sure he'd have no trouble."

"I don't know, he spoke pretty highly of you," which wasn't really a lie. "That's rare, coming from that dope."

"Who're you calling a dope, ice tits," an all too familiar and obnoxious voice snarled, and Natsu appeared from behind Gray. The black haired boy opened his mouth to retort, but was cut off when something was flung at his face. He cuaght a whiff of the smell, and jerked away quickly with a gasp.

"UGh! Where the hell did you find these? The trash?" Gray complained, his head spinning from the atrocious scent the fabric was giving off. IT smelled somethign like a mix of pizza and cat litter. It seemed familiar.

"No, I got them from my house," Natsu shrugged, but there was an evil glint in his dark eyes.

"WHAT?!"

"You went back to your house?" Lucy asked curiously, looking over towards the bickering boys. She still avoided looking at Gary, since he was holding the shorts as far away from him as possible.

"Yeah, unfortunately the trash seemed to be out of stock today. Surprising really, since that's where his clothes tend to end up," the pinkette chuckled while Gray sent him a mean look.

"How on earth did you get back so quickly?" Lucy asked, not seeming to understand. Gray didn't really either, the pink haired boy seemed to move at unearthly speeds when he wanted to. It wasn't human, but Gray had accepted a long time ago that a lot of things in Fairy Tail weren't explainable. Natsu was one of those things. "You weren't even gone for five minutes."

"I already told you I'm fast," Natsu rolled his eyes tireldy, but there was still a self-satisfied smirk on his face that told Gray he enjoyed amazing the blonde. Lucy on the other hand, looked ready to explode. Clearly her mind couldn't compute with this fact. "Anyway, put on the shorts before someone else catches your disease."

"It's not a disease," Gray hissed bitterly, casting a disdainful look towards the shorts. "And I'm not putting these...things...on. You use these to clean up Happy's piss, don't you? I can smell it from here."

"I use a lot of things to clean up happy's pee," Natsu shrugged, like it was not big deal. "Can't keep track of them all."

"Why doesn't Happy have a litter box?" Lucy asked, also looking a little disgusted at discovering this unnatural fact.

"Lost it."

"Of course you did," Lucy deadpanned, not looking the least surprised. Gray had to assume that the blonde had already had the unfortunate encounter with Natsu's bedroom. He shuddered for her sake, remembering his first time in the pinkette's bedroom. Compared to the rest of the reletively clean Dragneel household, his was a complete pig stye. Gray had gotten so lightheaded from the fumes that he had nearly passed out just when Natsu opened the door. As figured, they didn't spend much time hanging out in Natsu's room.

"So why don't you just run home and get me a clean pair, eh, Speedy Gonzolas," Gray joked, but Natsu didn't retort so the boy assumed he didn't get it. Instead he crinkled his nose and folded his arms, a sign he wasn't going to do it, and shook his head.

"Why don't you just deal with it and put on the freaking shorts? I'm not gonna sniff every pair of shorts just to find a clean one for you," he said, like it was obvious. It was acutally. Gray didn't expect much kindness from the pink haired bastard.

"I think what he means to say is that he has no clean shorts," Lucy supplied for the naked boy. Gray laughed while Natsu gaped at the blonde with a look of betrayal.

"Hey! Let's not forget who lent you those clothes," Natsu glared at the blue blouse the blonde had on pointedly. Gray glanced at the clothing. It did seem to be familiar.

"You're right, I'll have to thank Gradneey when I go back home. What time does she get back at?" The blonde asked innocently, but there was a mischievous glint in her brown eyes. Natsu looked taken aback, unused to people having retorts for him on the ready, while Gray cackled from the floor. He was liking this girl more and more.

"Hmph," Natsu huffed in loss, staring at the blonde contemplatively. Finally he stepped around the black haired boy and approached the girl until he was only a few inches from her. Gray couldn't see Lucy's face, as it was blocked by Natsu, but he took notice of how the blonde did not back down. He hadn't even realized how small the girl truly was until she was nearly face to face (face to chest, more like) with Natsu. Her head barely reached his collarbone, and her limbs looked like toothpicks compared to Natsu's own muscled arms. Gray was only an inch shorter than the pink haired boy himself, but sometimes it felt more like feet. He could only wonder how the girl felt being subject to Natsu's intimidating height, and was struck by how tough she was for being able to stand up to him.

She would make a great addition to fairy tail.

Lucy did not typically appreciate close contact with people, but there was just something about the pink haired boy that made her partial to him being near. Maybe it was the burning heat his skin seemed to give off, or perhaps it was the face splitting smiles he shot at her, but she felt completely comfortable with him being near.

Even earlier, when he'd nearly crashed into her and had his face too close for comfort, she'd felt fine. Sure, her heart had threatened to stop and her limbs were shaking the whole time he'd been away, but she didn't feel any fear at his touch. This fact didn't change when he crossed the floor to her, stopping so close that the toes of their sneakers touched. He was even closer than before, but she didn't feel uncomfortable. His scent seemed to waft around him like a cloud of perfume—she wondered if he actually wore it—and his heat enveloped her like a hug.

Their height difference was noticable to her for not the first time. She had already realized that Natsu was well into 6 feet, and he seemed even larger with the way he held himself. She could see every muscle of his arms, even through the sleeves of his t-shirt, and briefly wondered if he had a six pack like Gray. She wouldn't have been surprised.

His expression was serious as he gazed down at her, his eyes doing that weird thing where they changed from black to green. She had noticed it happen before, when he talked about his family and friends. She thought it was cool, and was captivated by his slightly changing eyes as they gazed down at her.

She could read him like a book, which slightly surprised her. She had thought he would be the type of person to block out his emotions, but she was clearly able to see the concern in his green eyes. His gaze made her heart pick up pace, and she feared once again for her her heart suddenly going still.

"That mouth of yours," he said gently, his voice quiet. Lucy stilled as his hand gently touched her cheek, not her mouth. She was keenly aware of the heat spilling into her face, both from embarassment and from his hot skin. She knew Mira and the others were watching, that Gray was directly behind them and probably seeing the whole thing, that anyone in the guild could walk over and see them, but the thought didn't seem to compute with her brain. All she could think about was his skin on hers, and the way his eyes stared down at her. "If you keep talking like that, you're gonna get yourself in a situation you don't want to be in." he pulled away and took a step back, giving her a smile. Lucy blinked at the lack of contact. "I told you being a Fairy ain't easy."

"Isn't that why you're teaching me to fight?" Lucy asked quietly, not trusting her voice. Natsu blinked in surprise, and she heard Gray make a 'huh' of confusion.

"Heh, yeah," he chuckled, rubbing his head. "And I'm gonna make you the best damn fighter there ever was."

"That is, if you don't break me first," Lucy whispered, feeling slight unease. Natsu looked shocked, staring at her with wide eyes. She thought for a minute that she'd pushed too far, but then he was suddenly giving her s heartwarming smile that just about melted her soul.

"Don't worry," he reassured her, not moving an inch closer. "I won't break you."

And funny thing was, she believed him.


	4. Chapter 4

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

Lucy groaned and slowly submerged herself into the real world, her dream whisking away into a spiral of colors and distorted shapes. She cracked her eyes open, sleep making her lids feel like they weighed a hundred pounds, and looked around the room in confusion. It took her a moment to recognize her surroundings, but it came as no shock to her when her eyes scanned over the space of her new living area.

She turned onto her side, eye catching the picture of her mother, and reached around her covers blindly. When her hand finally landed on the cool black square of her phone she wrapped her fingers around it and pulled it up close to her face. Her eyes still blurry with sleep had to squint at the dimmed screen to make out the time. She groaned when she realized there was no mistake, that six o'clock had come bright and early as it did every morning. She was just never awake to see it.

"Who in their right mind thought it was a good idea to start school at 7?" she grumbled angrily, pulling childishly on her blankets. She shivered at the thought of traipsing through the cold house and rubbed her hands sadly against her bare legs. She'd decided to go to bed in only a tank and shorts since it has been so hot. Last night had been much fun; she'd spent the time drinking away with the merry people of Fairy Tail, but now she regretted drinking so many glasses. Not of wine or beer, of course, but of grape juice. The same that Mira said was given to the drunkard of Fairy Tail, Cana Albarn, during the day. Lucy smiled to herself, feeling a sense of pride that she could put a name to the face. She still remembered many people from Fairy Tail; none looked anything like the other and each had their own individual and unique personality.

"Lucy?" A deep voice asked outside her door, followed closely by a delayed knock. Lucy recognized her cousin's voice and sighed tiredly, knowing that any fantasies of spending the day in bed were henceforth destroyed.

"I'm up," she called back after a moment, raising herself up onto her elbows. She heard Laxus's chuckles and realized that her sad tone must've been more obvious than she'd thought.

"Breakfast is downstairs," he called back before his footsteps echoed down the hallway. Lucy waited until she heard the creek of the stairs before collapsing face-first into her pillow. She groaned, the sound muffled by the fabric, and began to mentally prepare herself for the longest day of her life.

The early morning air wasn't as chilly as Lucy had thought it would be, but there was a certain brisk to it that had her moving quickly down the hallway to the shower. Thankfully the warm water seemed to wash away her morning blues and she exited the bathroom ten minutes later feeling much better. Her new school uniform was rather cute as well, which helped a lot. She hadn't thought the red skirt and tan vest would compliment her well, but one glance in the mirror changed her mind. Red, apparently, was her color.

Lucy skipped down the stairs and padded into the dining room. She paused when she spotted the small feast laid out upon the table. Her cousin looked up from his own meal as she entered, giving her a wary look. He seemed relieved when he spotted her clean, fresh attire. Lucy gave him a look back before tenderly moving towards the table. Her eyes caught the sight of golden pancakes, browned sausages, and bright scrambled eggs. Her stomach growled hungrily.

"Did you rob the breakfast aisle?" She asked in amazement, relishing in the fact that she would not be forced to endure a breakfast of Mexican leftovers or slices of cheese.

"Nope," Laxus said calmly. "I robbed Fairy Tail."

"What?!" Lucy yelped, pulling her hand back quickly from the sausage she'd been reaching towards.

"Relax," Laxus chuckled, noticing her panicked expression. "This is all the leftovers."

"Leftovers? This is a feast," Lucy gaped, eyeing the fully covered length of their table.

"Fairy Tail has the appetite of starving men," Laxus told her before taking a sip of his cup. He paused with the lip to his chin, glancing at her with bright blue eyes. "Don't _ever_ forget that."

"R-right," Lucy swallowed, her stomach tightening at his seriousness. Laxus stared at her for another second before letting out a breathy sigh. Lucy realized after a moment that he was laughing.

"Relax, would you? I'm only joking," he sighed, setting the cup down and giving her a half smile. Lucy frowned and took a seat.

"You're an awfully serious joker, aren't you?" She huffed, stabbing her fork into a sausage. The juice splashed out onto her hand, burning her. She dropped it with a hiss.

"Careful there. Food from Fairy Tail likes to fight back," Laxus smirked while watching his cousin fan her hand wildly. She gave him an unamused look over her shoulder and gently prodded her hand. She ignored the older blonde's eye roll and gingerly picked up the fork again. Carefully she picked the sausage up and set it on her plate. Laxus sighed again but turned away to his own meal.

For a while the two blondes sat in silence, immersing themselves in their food. It wasn't an uncomfortable or tense silence, like it usually was, so Lucy took the time to enjoy it. She finished well before her cousin and decided that instead of leaving she would stay with him. The clock said that they had a half an hour before school so there was still time.

The first few minutes Lucy picked absently at her leftover crumbs, tearing them into even tinier bits and pieces. After that bored her, she decided to look up and watch her cousin.

Lucy observed Laxus quietly as he ate. She was still surprised to notice the differences when she looked at him. She was so used to seeing the picture of the small scrawny kid from all those years ago that this new, older version was slightly unsettling. The softness of his face had given way to a strong jaw line and the dreamy expression she remembered seeing constantly on his face was replaced by a serious, stony look. His eyes were hard and unyielding, even as he sat down and simply ate breakfast. Lucy realized that her cousin seemed to have a perpetual look of anger on his face. Matched with the scar he had gained, he looked downright terrifying. She wondered why she hadn't realized it before.

Well, that wasn't exactly true. Lucy had gotten the chance to see other sides of him. She knew the child version she remembered was still buried somewhere deep, deep, _deep_ within him. She had also seen the gentle and kind side of him when he talked about Fairy Tail or Mira. He almost seemed to lose himself when he began to gaze at the white haired beauty. It didn't take a genius to know that Laxus Dreyar was utterly and hopelessly in love Mirajane Strauss.

"Do I have something on my face?" Laxus's voice broke through her reverie, making her jump in shock. She blinked quickly, jerking back into reality, and refocused on her Cousin's face. He had looked up from his plate and saw her gazing at him. She blushed in embarrassment of being caught.

"N-no," Lucy stammered, looking down at her plate in order to escape the piercing gaze of her cousin's eyes. Laxus blinked in surprise, noticing her flushed cheeks, and sighed gently. He pushed away from the table with a slight squeak, causing the girl to look up curiously.

"Come on," he said, picking up his plate and heading towards the kitchen. "If we don't hurry we'll be late."

"Y-yeah," Lucy mumbled, following suit and picking up her own dirty dishes. She headed into the kitchen and set the plate in the sink. She followed her cousin's broad back as they made their way to the front hall. Lucy paused when he began to pull on his shoes. "Um, what about the rest of the food?"

"Hm?" Laxus hummed, glancing at the table. A good portion was still left, despite the fact that Laxus had about four servings just himself. "Don't worry about it. Gramps will finish it or just send the leftovers to Natsu."

"Heh," Lucy huffed, remembering the pinkette's unearthly appetite. She shook her head and pulled on her own sneakers.

"Here, this should have everything you need in it," Laxus said, holding out a light pink backpack to her. Lucy gazed at it curiously, gently taking it into her hands. She gaped at the weight of it, stumbling forward slightly. Laxus reached out and steadied her.

"What the hell is in this thing?" Lucy grunted, gently placing it on the floor. She bent down and unzipped it, scanning through the items.

"Folders, books, pencils, all that stuff," Laxus listed, glancing disdainfully at the bag. "You won't need half of it, but Mira insisted."

"Mira?" Lucy asked uncertainly, closing the bag again.

"Don't be too surprised. Mira's like a little mother," he warned her.

"How cute," Lucy sighed, her chest squeezing pleasurably.

"Humph," Laxus said, but she caught the small smile on his face as he turned away. "Hurry up. She won't be happy if you're late."

"Right!" Lucy agreed. She stood up and grabbed the straps, tugging the bag into the air. Her muscles strained against the incredible weight and she grunted as she lifted it up inch by inch.

The weight suddenly disappeared as the bag was taken from her grip. Lucy stumbled at the sudden unbalance and looked to see Laxus toss the bag over his shoulder as if it was nothing more than a few pounds. Lucy gaped.

"We're not going to get anywhere if you can't even lift the thing up," her cousin explained, noticing her astonished look. Lucy paused a minute before giving him a bright smile.

"Thanks Lax!" She said cheerfully. Laxus stared at her for a moment before huffing and turning away. Lucy smiled and followed him out to his little car. She slid into the passenger seat and Laxus deposited the bags in the back before slipping into the drivers chamber. The car grumbled to life beneath them and he carefully made his way out of the driveway.

That was another thing she'd learned about her cousin; he was very careful.

"So how many kids are in the school?" Lucy asked after a moment of silence. Laxus hummed, thinking, and shrugged.

"Probably a few hundred with Freshman through Seniors," he estimated, shrugging again.

"How many are from Fairy Tail?"

"Not that many," he told her and then paused. "I know that you want Natsu to start training you to fight."

Lucy went still, silently cursing in her mind. The reproachful tone in her cousins voice was all the proof she needed. He didn't approve.

"I don't like it," he confirmed, "but I think it's a good idea."

"Huh?" Lucy gasped, turning sharply towards the blonde. The car rolled to a stop at a red light but he kept his gaze straight ahead like he was afraid to look at her.

"Don't misunderstand; Natsu is a tough fighter. He's ruthless. He won't go easy on you or treat you different just 'cause your a girl," he risked a glance at her before the light turned green and he had to move forward. "And under any other circumstance I wouldn't let him be within miles of you."

"What circumstances?" Lucy asked curiously. Laxus paused again, biting his lip. Lucy could tell he was regretting mentioning any of this to her, but he was in too deep now. She wouldn't let him walk away from this and he seemed to know it because he gave of sigh of relent.

"I'm sure Mira told you about some of our, um, rivals, right?" Laxus asked. Lucy hummed her confirmation. "Humph, of course. Well, in this city, pretty much all the bars are rivals, but there are a few who choose to show their discontent physically. There have been numerous accounts where a person from another bar has started a fight, and even more so where our members have beaten some of the others up. Tension builds; the bar masters get angry."

"Wouldn't you be if it was your children being attacked?" Lucy questioned.

"I would; I _am_ angry. Every time one of those bastards opens their mouths it leads to destruction. Recently it's calmed down, but you know the saying: calm before the storm. I'm worried. Everyone's on their wits end and Gramps is sure somethings gonna happen. Something big," he sighed, his dark tone lightening as he turned to look at her. "As the next owner of Fairy Tail I have to be prepared to take the roll of leader. Mira probably told you about my work in Gramps office. I'm preparing myself if the case arises. I wish I could, but I don't have the time to train you. There are multiple others who could, but Natsu is the best and most determined. Besides," he paused again, scratching his head. "The bastard himself came up to me and asked for my permission to train you. Like he was trying to marry you or something."

"Wha?" Lucy blushed at the implications. "Did he actually ask you?"

"Came by this morning," he confirmed. "I'm gonna tell you something about Natsu; call it a warning. He's a crazy son of a bitch who's always looking for a fight, but he's a good, determined guy. If he finds something worthy of his care then you can be sure as hell that he'll protect it with his life. Fairy Tail is one of those things, his nakama as well."

Laxus paused as they pulled into a parking spot. Lucy blinked in surprise, spotting the school building that Mira had shown her just a day ago. "Whatever you said to him was clearly enough," Laxus continued, turning the car off. He popped open his door and stopped. "He considers you of very high priority."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Lucy questioned.

"It means that no matter what kind of trouble you get yourself in-physical, emotional, situational-he'll be there to protect you. That's the only reason I'm letting him train you." Laxus gave her one last look before standing up and shutting the door behind him. Lucy blinked in surprise and frowned. After a moment she shook her head and stepped out of the car, following after her cousin as he began making his way into the school. 

The front of the school was practically deserted when they had pulled up, but it seemed that a hundred people had magically appeared in the brief moments she hadn't been paying attention. Lucy had to duck and weave, dodging people and backpacks left and right while struggling to keep sight of Laxus's bright yellow hair.

"Ah, sorry," Lucy apologized, gasping in shock as her chest collided with something hard. She looked up, expecting to find a backpack even larger than her own as the cause of her delay, but gaping when she found a boy looking down at her instead.

"Huh?" He asked, dark blue eyes moving down to look at her clearly. The boy was tall, almost as tall as her cousin, with a similar shade of blonde hair. He was young looking though, and she wouldn't have been surprised if he was a freshman.

"I'm sorry, I accidentally bumped into you," Lucy repeated, bowing her head slightly. The boy blinked slowly before his face split into a large, sparkling smile.

"Not a problem, Blondie," he said kindly, his voice deep. Lucy flinched at the nickname but forced herself to smile back regardless. His eyes widened and his smile seemed to grow a little larger. "You aren't new, are you? I mean, I haven't seen you around here before."

"No. I mean, yes, I'm new," she stammered, chuckling and feeling her cheeks heat up embarrassedly. She would have to be lying if she said she didn't think this new stranger was attractive, and his smile didn't bring down too many points, but something about him sent her nerves on end. She couldn't tell if it was a good or bad feeling.

"Well then I'm really glad I ran into you," he said cheerfully while Lucy smiled confusedly. He extended a hand out to her and smiled. "My name is Sting. Sting Eucliffe, junior class A-3. You are?"

Lucy moved forward to grab his hand but was stopped by someone grabbing her shoulder and yanking her backwards. Her breath hitched in surprise, but she didn't go far before she landed against something hard. This time she knew it was a person, and knew who it was without even needing to look. I mean, who else would have the strange scent of firewood and cinnamon?

"Natsu?" she asked, tilting her head to get a look at the pinkette's face. She half expected him to be smiling down at her with that goof expression but was shocked when he was doing anything but. She gulped nervously and tried to move away, but his hands stayed tightly wrapped against her arms, pinning her in place. It was a gentle grip, but with the waves of anger rolling off his body it did nothing to ease her.

"Ah, Dragneel," Sting exclaimed, his smile turning thinner and more contemptuous. Lucy turned back around to see him sigh out a harsh laugh. "I guess it was too much to hope that the last fight did you in, huh?"

"Your little lacky didn't even scratch me," Natsu returned. His voice might've sounded calm and normal to any other person who heard it, but Lucy could hear the stress and unspoken threats behind every syllable. She stiffened as Natsu began to move forward, afraid he was going to follow through and attack the blonde boy. He didn't though. Instead he gently moved her to the side and positioned it so his body covered her from Sting. The blonde boy noticed this subtle action and his smirk seemed to grown even wider. Lucy was reminded of a cat.

"As expected of the great Salamander." Lucy felt Natsu stiffen at the nickname, but he remained still. Sting chuckled and glanced over towards the partially hidden blonde. "And what about her? A new member, or just some play thing?"

Lucy blinked and gaped when it finally set in. She cringed back from his peering eyes but kept her gaze defiantly on his. So this was what a member of an opposing bar looked like? And from the looks of things, he must've been a member of the more physical bars that Laxus was telling her about. How convenient that she met him _and_ was in the same class as him. She frowned at the thought.

"Why does it matter to you, she's nothing to you," Natsu said quickly, but something in his tone must've given him away because Sting's eyes narrowed and his expression became one of victory. He looked exactly like those animals on TV, just when they are about to close in on the kill.

"So she's _yours._ I didn't think you were into that, but I guess even a tough guy like you melts for a pretty face once in a while, am I right?" Sting chuckled haughtily while Natsu became even stiffer. Lucy glanced up at his face and saw that his expression was now revealing all the anger he was truly feeling. Sting noticed this as well, but instead of taking warning and backing up he decided to poke the bear even more. "I guess that means she's pretty good in bed, huh. If you haven't gotten rid of her yet." He turned his leer onto Lucy, his smirk darkening. "Mind giving her to me for a little run? I'd love to see how she keeps up with you."

"You bastard!" Natsu yelled, and before Lucy could even blink he was on top of the blonde. Sting grunted as Natsu's full force fell into him and they tumbled onto the hard concrete in a bundle of flailing limbs and grunts. People instantly moved to make room for the squabbling boys, and Lucy was left standing alone. She gaped at the boys fighting before glancing around at the others. Nobody spared a glance at the two and just continued along with daily life, carefully avoiding the fight. Lucy frowned, wondering how often things like this must've happened for everyone to become so accustomed to it.

"Ugh! Why so upset, Salamander? Don't tell me you really care about that slut?" Sting prompted, adding fuel to the fire that was Natsu Dragneel. It was more like lighting a firework around barrels of gunpowder, the way Natsu's expression changed. Her cousin's warning suddenly became very clear to her. Natsu _was_ a good person; he fought for just and proper reasons, but he was terrifying. It was very obvious that he had been holding back before, and it seemed that he was near the point of just completely letting go.

"Wait!" Lucy yelled as Natsu pulled his arm back. He didn't hear her or didn't care as he let his arm fly towards Sting's face. The blonde also seemed to realize his mistake, as pure fear shone on his face just as the fist he had provoked flew towards his face. Lucy shut her eyes as they impacted. 

"Didn't I tell you that if you started another fight that there would be punishment," Laxus asked, standing in front of Natsu with his arms crossed. The pinkette flinched at the serious look on the blondes face and yelped when something cold pressed against his arm.

"Oww!" He whined childishly, even though it didn't hurt that much, and glanced at the blonde besides him. She was dutifully working away at cleaning his injuries and wrapping him up, despite his protests. His hand felt like a mummy and the smell of antiseptic hurt his nose, but he dared not to say anything that would cause her to yell at him. She had yet to do such a thing, but he could feel it coming like an approaching storm. It would be a large storm at that.

"Lucy, you don't have to bandage this fool up," Gray said lazily from his place on the wall. Natsu was still pissed that the black haired idiot was seeing him In such a position, but fighting was off limits. Even a simple insult from his mouth was met by the iron hot gazes of the twin-looking cousins. Gray had free reign though, and he was taking full advantage of it. "After all, he's the dumbass who attacked a member of Sabertooth."

"I won, stupid." Natsu fought back, cringing as Lucy tightened the bandage around his arm. "Ow, Luce! That hurts."

"The bandage was loose," she said half heartedly, tying it off and closing up her kit with a sigh. Natsu was surprised; the blonde seemed more upset about the wounds on his body than the fact that he'd started a fight. In fact, even though she'd made numerous jabs at his injuries, she had yet to say a single condescending thing about his battle. That didn't go for her cousin however.

"No fighting for two, no, _three_ weeks and you'll be doing dish duty for the same amount of time," Laxus said sternly. Natsu didn't really mind the thought of cleaning dishes, even if fairy tail ate and were about as clean as wild animals, but the thought of not being able to fight drove him nuts.

"Come on Laxus! I already told you that I was trying to protect Luce!" He fought angrily, gripping the edge of the desk tightly. He saw Lucy stiffen from the corner of his eyes, but she quickly began sorting through the medical supplies as a distraction.

"Protect her from what? A conversation?" Laxus countered, shaking his head. Natsu could see the stress of trying to maintain balance riding on the blondes shoulders, but he couldn't help it. Something had just clicked in his mind. As soon as he saw the blonde bastard talking to Lucy with that leecherous grin on his face his common sense seemed to fly out the window. Looking back he knew it was a horrible choice to confront Sabertooth's second-in-command, let alone _attack_ him, but he would've done it over again without hesitation. Simply seeing the two blondes in the same space sent fireworks of anger through his body, and the thought of the bastard _touching_ her made him see red.

"A conversation? You really think he was there to have a nice chat about the weather?" Natsu was frustrated. Why couldn't Laxus see the reason in this. Why wasn't he as worried for Lucy's sake as Natsu was? Why wasn't he freaking out and itching for a chance to pummel the bastard himself?

"Not everyone is out to cause trouble, Natsu," Laxus said tiredly, his face tense.

"Do you truly believe that someone from Sabertooth wasn't there to start something? What would you say if I wasn't there and that bastard hurt Lucy?" Natsu yelled.

Everyone went silent. Laxus's eyes widened before he shook his head slowly. Natsu could see him fighting with himself and realized that the blonde _was_ mad about what had happened, he was just more mature about it.

"Laxus is right," Lucy said finally. Natsu looked up at her sharply, the feeling of his only ally betraying him like a stab in the chest. She cringed as if realizing this fact and shook her head. "There was no proof that Sting had any intention of starting something. He said some nasty things, but if you get angry and jump him every time he says something than you're no better than him." Lucy stared at Natsu evenly, her dark brown eyes unwavering, before turning to her cousin. "And I agree with your punishment, but I have a few revisions. Natsu is not allowed to fight for three weeks," she ignored his sound of protest by raising her hand, "however during that time he is free to teach _me_ how to fight."

Natsu's mouth, which had been open and ready to protest, snapped shut in surprise. Even Gray, who'd been preparing to insult the pinkette again, fell silent and stared at the girl blankly. Laxus was the only one who didn't seemed shocked. He sighed and ran a hand down his face, suddenly looking much older.

"You want him to teach you even after seeing _that_?" Laxus jerked his finger towards Natsu and the boy shrunk back with a frown. Lucy didn't seem affected though.

"While I agree with you on the fact that it was wrong of Natsu to start a fight, I believe his actions were just," everyone gaped at her and Lucy straightened under the attention. She took a deep breath before continuing. "I was with a member of a physical bar. Weather he was there for conversation or to start something, I don't know. Yes, Natsu shouldn't have attacked him, but I'm glad he showed up. I have no fighting experience, and if Sting took it upon himself to start something with me then I would be in trouble. Natsu recognized this and went to help me. He wasn't wrong, but you wish to avoid future instances like this, right? If he teaches me to fight and defend myself then there will be no need for him to come and protect me or start fights for me."

"I agree with what you're thinking, but you've seen how he fights first hand now, Lucy. What if he hurts you?" Laxus growled, obviously displeased by the fact his cousin was beating him. Natsu stared between the two and was shocked to see Lucy smirk. He thought she looked way too good with a smirk on her face.

"If he hurts me then you can punish him as you see fit," she shrugged and Gray stifled a laugh. Natsu glared at him. "But I don't think it'll be a problem."

"What makes you believe that?" Gray asked skeptically, a slight smile on his face. Natsu wanted to wipe it off his face but refrained for fear of Laxus's wrath.

"Intuition," Lucy responded evenly. Gray laughed again, loudly and harshly, while Laxus sighed. Natsu only watched her though. He was amazed by the things that came out of this girl's mouth and wanted to hear her say more. Something about her fascinated him and sent a feeling of excitement through his veins. He loved the feeling, but found it odd that she was the only one who brought it out of him. What did that mean? What exactly was she doing to him?

"And how far has your intuition gotten you, Princess?" Gray asked, but there was no maliciousness behind his voice. Natsu was sure that Gray didn't know of Lucy's past, at least not to the extent that _he_ knew, but he could still see the blonde girl flinch. She recovered quickly though, turning and giving Gray a smug look.

"It's gotten me this far, hasn't it?" She countered. Gray stared at her hard for a moment before relenting with a sigh. He shrugged his shoulders, the universal sign that he'd given up on the conversation, and leaned back against the wall. Lucy gave him a small smile of victory before turning back to her cousin. "Please. I understand that Natsu's fighting style is dangerous, and chances of getting hurt are high, but I want— _need_ to learn how to defend myself. I'm a member of Fairy Tail now, the granddaughter of it's Master. I have to be able to rise against the challenges that these tittles propose by myself." She stopped and gulped before her eyes steeled over. "If you won't allow Natsu to teach me then I'll find someone else. Anyone."

The air felt tense to the pink haired boy as he stared between the two blondes. Lucy had finished off her speech shakily, but her posture was tense and her tone sure. Laxus saw this too and blew out angrily through his nose while gritting his teeth. His arms were crossed over his chest, but that did little to hide his clenched fists. Natsu realized that if this was any other person saying it than Laxus wouldn't hesitate to punch, yell, or just let them do whatever the hell they wanted. But this was Lucy, and all three options were out of his reach. It was odd because there wasn't a single person in the bar like this, but Natsu felt that Lucy was truly untouchable.

"Fine." Laxus griped, his tone revealing that he wasn't pleased with this at all. Natsu let out a breath of relief and Lucy sighed before slumping. The pink haired boy didn't understand why he felt so nervous about the thought of Lucy training with someone else, but he was relieved to know that that was no longer an option. "But I'm watching over your training."

"I thought you said you had work to do?" Lucy replied quickly.

"Geh," Laxus jerked backwards, frowning. "W-Well then I'll assign someone I trust to watch over you. Is that clear?" He challenged, looking between Lucy and Natsu.

"Aye, sir," Natsu replied, giving the boy a mock salute.

"Crystal," Lucy agreed, nodding her head. The three stared at each other for a long moment before a laugh broke through. Everyone blinked and turned to watch as Gray pushed off the wall and headed for the door.

"I really don't understand you Dreyar's," he said, glancing back at them over his shoulder. "But I'm looking forward to this. Consider me a volunteer for watch-dog duty."

"No way," Laxus denied right away.

"What? Why the hell not?" Gray exclaimed, jumping and turning to face the blonde.

"Because you'll only cause unrest. You'll taunt Natsu and then he'll attack you and you'll both drag Lucy into it," Laxus deadpanned. Gray opened his mouth to protest and then sighed.

"Fine, Fine. Anyway, I'm heading to class before the bell rings. I suggest you do the same. Wouldn't want Blondie to be late on her first day of school." he waved over his shoulder before opening the door and exiting into the hall.

"Ah, that stripping bastard," Natsu growled under his mouth.

"Natsu," Laxus called and Natsu straightened up quickly. Laxus paused, grabbing his backpack in one hand and Lucy's in the other. Natsu expected him to turn and start yelling again, but the tall blonde only sighed before heading towards the door. "Make sure you take care of Lucy." And then he was gone.

"Um, so..." Natsu scratched the back of his neck uneasily, glancing at the blonde girl. She suddenly turned which caused him to jump.

"I assume I'm in your class, huh?" She asked cheerfully, giving him a large smile. Natsu blinked in surprise before nodding his head stupidly. "Ah, so I guess we're both in class with Sting right? Maybe we'll get a chance to apologize...Anyway! Let's head out, eh?"

Natsu slipped of the table and grabbed his own bag before following after the blonde. The hallways were partially filled with lingering students, mostly first years, but they were able to move easily. Natsu stayed by her side, careful to keep a few inches of distance between them, and half-listened to her as she spoke while the other half of his attention eyed the halls for signs of any Sabertooth lackies.

"This morning was kinda scary though," Lucy said and Natsu paused, his attention fully caught on her words. "I mean, I had felt uneasy around him from the beginning, but who would've thought you would've showed up and suddenly kick his butt?" she chuckled slightly, brushing hair out of her eyes. "You're a little like superman, you know?"

"I'm confused," Natsu admitted after a second, stopping. They were in the hall just before homeroom, and the only people there were students who were rushing to get to class on the upper floors. Lucy stopped a little ahead of him and turned around with a look of confusion. "Why aren't you mad at me? Shouldn't you be yelling at me or something? Shouldn't you be scared of me now? You're acting like this morning didn't even happen!"

"I was just talking about this morning!" Lucy replied back, a bit of annoyance creeping into her tone. "And why on earth would I be scared of you? Or angry at you for that matter?"

"Because I'm mean! I'm scary and hurt people and start fights over nothing!" Natsu griped back. He wasn't sure where the annoyance and anger was suddenly coming from, but it was like a tidal wave going through his chest. Why couldn't she just understand?

"Nothing? You said so yourself; you were fighting to protect me! Or was that just some kind of lame excuse?" Her tone turned darker towards the last sentence. Natsu jerked his mouth closed and stared at her uncertainly. Her eyes stared at him clearly, something he found he both appreciated and found irritating about her.

"No, of course not," Natsu said earnestly. Lucy stared at him for a moment longer before blowing out a breath of air.

"See? You're not mean and you don't fight for nothing," she insisted, smiling. He blinked in surprise, his heart picking up slightly. He felt the back of his neck heat up and quickly covered it with his hand.

"What about being scary?" he countered, turning his eyes away.

"I think you _can_ be scary," Lucy began, eyes turning upwards while she tapped her chin. Natsu looked at her questioningly. "But you can also be very gentle. I think you're scary to your enemies, but you seem like a teddy bear to me."

"Teddy...bear?" Natsu murmured, his manliness feeling like it had dropped a few degrees.

"Oh, uh, no! I mean, you're not quite as soft as a teddy bear. You're more of a...a, uh...a dragon! Yes, you're like a dragon!" She exclaimed, clearly happy to have found the right word.

"Dragon?" he repeated, smiling slightly.

"Yes! You may _look_ strong and scary, but you're only trying to protect your treasure!" she explained, beaming.

"My treasure?" he laughed lightly, gazing at her kindly. "Yeah, I guess that seems pretty accurate."

"Hehe, Natsu the Dragon has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?" she asked, tilting her head.

"It does," he agreed with a soft smile. "But if I'm the dragon, does that make you my princess?"

"huh?" Lucy gasped, staring at him blankly. Natsu's smile widened and he opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by the loud ring of the bell. His smile disappeared as quickly as it had come and he sighed, shaking his head.

"Guess we're gonna be late anyway," he sighed, shifting the bag higher on his shoulder and starting towards the classroom. "Come on, Princess."

"Eep! I'm coming, I'm coming!" she replied, quickly running after him. Natsu chuckled and she pouted as they headed down the hall. 

"Can you please explain to me why you're late, Mr. Dragneel?" The teacher asked, staring at the two students who walked into the classroom during his morning speech. Lucy cringed back from the intense gaze of the teacher. The teacher was a man who was on the verge of passing from young to old with a slight beard and long auburn hair that went to his shoulder. He peered down at the two with a very concentrated look, but something about him seemed familiar.

"You can drop the teacher act, Gildarts," Natsu sighed, but his tone was that of amusement. Lucy looked unsurely between Natsu and the teacher, and jumped in surprise when the teacher began to laugh.

"Same as always, Natsu. Who's that behind you?" Gildarts asked, wiping at his eyes. He looked slightly younger with the giant smile on his face. Lucy thought it made him look better.

"Ah, this is Luce!" Natsu said cheerfully, grabbing the blonde's arm and dragging her forward. Lucy squeaked in surprise and skid to a stop in front of the teacher's desk. Gildarts looked her up and down skeptically. Lucy shifted awkwardly under his gaze, glancing back at Natsu and at the class. Some of the students had noticed their entrance and were watching the scene, Sting included, while others just went about rushing to finish homework they didn't do.

"Ain't she a cutie," Gildarts stated finally, a light blush on his cheeks. Lucy jumped and Natsu came forward quickly.

"Don't get any ideas you perv," he warned before leaning forward. "She's part of fairy tail and Laxus's cousin."

"Oh ho!" Gildarts laughed loudly. "So you're the girl everyones talkin' about. Honestly I expected you to look more like your dad, but ya look jus' like your mother."

"You know my mom?" Lucy asked, astonishment tinting her voice. She knew that her mother had grown up here, but she'd never thought that anyone who was here during that time would've stuck around.

"Sure I did. I'm sorry, by the way. She was a great woman. I was never in class with her or nothing but I saw her around plenty enough," he paused, squinting at her. "I'd probably mistake you for her if I had a couple of beers in me."

"No drinking on school grounds, Gildarts," Natsu warned, grabbing Lucy by the shoulder and starting towards the aisle. "Luce's gonna sit with me, okay?"

"Don't do anything your mother wouldn't approve of," Gildarts called after them with a snicker. Lucy flushed and Natsu rolled his eyes.

"I say the same thing to you, old man," Natsu returned, leading Lucy up the aisle. Lucy quickly scanned through the faces of people. She avoided Sting's eyes, which were conveniently peering at her, and spotted a familiar head of red hair. She sent Erza a small wave.

"How many people from fairy tail are in this class?" Lucy whispered, sitting down in the seat Natsu directed her towards. Natsu sat down besides her with a sigh, leaning back in the chair.

"Not too many. Looks like that ice bastard hasn't shown up yet," he said lazily.

"Gray is in this class?" Lucy questioned.

"Unfortunately," he agreed, "Erza and Levy are in this class too."

"What about Kina, Mira, and Liz?" Lucy questioned, settling into her desk.

"They're in the other class. Don't worry though, we'll still see them a lot," he assured her, leaning into his bag and pulling out a notebook. Lucy sighed and bent down to get her own bag when she realized that it wasn't there. Panic settled into her chest, which quickly turned to annoyance when she realized that her bag had been taken by her cousin.

"Damn," she sighed.

"What's wrong?" Natsu asked quickly, his eyes darting to Sting. The blonde was a few rows ahead of them, but he didn't seem to mind turning in his seat to stare. Lucy avoided his gaze by looking down.

"Laxus has my backpack," Lucy whispers back to him, glaring at the lines in the wood. Natsu is silent for a moment before he chuckla ces lightly. Lucy turns to him in confusion and watches as he tears a page out of his notebook. She blinks slowly when he slides it onto her desk, followed closely behind by a slightly chewed pen.

"Good thing you have me then," he joked, giving her a large smile. Lucy felt herself blush slightly and smiled back.

"Definitely," she agreed.

"Alright you little punks!" Gildarts yelled out suddenly. The room quieted instantly and Natsu gave her one last smile before turning towards the front of the room. "Now, lets go over the properties of creative writing."

"He's kinda simple for a third year high school teacher," Lucy said, folding up her notebook page full of notes. She tucked the sheet into her vest pocket despite the fact that she already knew most of the information written down on the page.

"Simple? Don't let him hear you say that, he'll have a fit," Natsu warned, smiling regardless. Lucy had been surprised when he'd began to attentively take notes. That is, until she looked over five minutes later to find him sound asleep. A couple of kids ended up snoozing during Gildarts's lesson, but the older teacher didn't seem to care. Lucy could only assume he was the type of teacher that told you what he needed to and weather you passed or failed from that point onward was your own fault.

"I didn't mean it like that, it's just that I already know most of this," she said, motioning to his half-filled paper. A lot of it looked like nonsense and the other half was so ineligible that she didn't even bother to try and figure out what it said.

"Well aren't you little miss genius?" he yawned, stretching his arms widely behind his back. Lucy made a face at his comment. He ignored her and grabbed his papers, rudely stuffing them in his bag before slinging it over his shoulder. "Come on, next period is science. Mr. Jura won't be happy if we're late."

"Are you planning on sleeping during his class as well?" she joked, following him down the aisle.

"Tch. I ain't got a death wish, so no," Natsu said. Lucy laughed at his expression and waved to Gildarts as she passed by.

"Are all the teachers as laid back as Mr. Clive?" Lucy queered as they stepped into the hall.

"Just call him Gildarts; everyone else does it and he's a part of Fairy Tail anyway," Natsu told her, grabbing her arm and gently leading her through the bustling crowd of passerbyers. "And it depends on what your schedule is. Gildarts is about as chill as chill can get, but people like Mr. Jura are crazy about responsibility and self-punishment crap."

"Self...punishment?" Lucy repeated uncertainly.

"Yeah. We call him Monk Man behind his back. He's all about focusing 110% of your power on studies and training your mind to be a good student. He's a bit of an odd ball, but there are a lot of those at this school," he explained.

"What bar is he from?" she wondered.

"Not everyone here is from a bar," Natsu informed her, stopping and turning around. "A lot of people actually aren't so be careful. You can talk to me about it and I'll point out who is from where, but its best not to talk about it. I mean, everyone _knows_ what's going on, but they kind of just pretend its not happening. If people start talking about it than they're forced to acknowledge it."

"So Mr. Jura isn't a member?"

"Oh no, he is," Natsu chuckled and Lucy scrunched her nose at him. "He's a member of Lamia Scale."

"Lamia Scale? I've never heard of that one," Lucy murmured, thinking back.

"There are too many bars to keep track of, trust me. You'll get the groove eventually though. Anyway, Lamia Scale is the bar closest to us and is actually an ally. And by ally I mean we're not currently out to kill each other," he explained with a smile.

"Currently..." she sighed.

"There are a couple of other weirdo teachers to watch out for too. Like Brain and Mr. Everlue. Those guys sure got some issues," he shook and rubbed his shoulders, giving her a quick smirk. "Good thing we don't have them."

"Y-yeah," Lucy agreed, rubbing her head tiredly. "There seem to be a lot of different people at this school, huh?"

"Well we're not the only high school with bar students," Natsu shrugged. "Theres also Balam High. That school's full of students we don't get along with." Lucy watched as Natsu's expression seemed to darken. "Don't go over there, alright? Not unless you're with me or Laxus."

"Are they really that bad?" She asked curiously, her mind picturing up tall dark figures with scary weapons. She shivered.

"Yes." Natsu told her. "But don't worry, you won't have to ever talk to them."

"Probably," she reminded him gently. He paused for a moment before nodding his agreement.

"Yeah, probably."


	5. Chapter 5

Lucy walked out of the school beside Natsu, letting out a long sigh. The boy at her side chuckled as she slumped over, both physically and mentally exhausted.

"Regretting not taking that nap during Gildarts's class?" he taunted. She only groaned in response. Natsu laughed again, but it was cut short when a dark shadow passed over him. Lucy—noticing his uncharacteristic silence—straightened up and turned to see Natsu backing away from Laxus.

"Oh, hi Laxus," Lucy sighed, covering her mouth as she yawned. Her cousin pulled away from the pinkette and focused his intense eyes on her. She got the feeling he was scanning her for injuries. She frowned but kept still until the inspection was over. "Am I going home with you?"

"Well you're not walking home," he replied gruffly, seemingly satisfied. He cracked a small smile. "I doubt you can even find the restroom in the _school_ , let alone your way back home."

"She _couldn't_ find the restroom," Natsu agreed, ignoring the glare Lucy shot at him. "Erza had to help her—twice—and I had to when Erza wasn't there. Do you know how awkward it is to stand outside the girls bathroom? Everyone looked at me like I was some sort of pervert."

"For the best," Laxus nodded while Natsu gaped at him. Lucy giggled behind her hand, turning away when Natsu shot her a wounded look. "Did you have any more problems?"

"Nope," Lucy assured him proudly.

"Not yet," Natsu added in dubiously, frowning and crossing his arms. "That bastard is still in our classes."

"I trust you to deal with that problem. Of course, only _if_ it needs to be dealt with," the blonde said, glaring pointedly at Natsu.

"'No starting up unnecessary fights'. I know already, alright?" He grumbled, looking down with a pout. Lucy had a feeling it really upset him to be told off from fighting.

"I'm glad," Laxus said. He paused, giving Natsu one last long look before his attention turned on Lucy. "Are you ready to go home now?"

"Um yeah, but can I ask where my backpack is?" Lucy questioned.

"In the car," Laxus waved it away and turned towards the parking lot. Lucy started after him before stopping and looking back at Natsu.

"Do you need a ride home, Natsu?" She asked curiously. Natsu glanced at her with raised eyebrows, smiling.

"I thought I told you I'm no good with cars?" He questioned. Lucy blinked at him before blushing.

"O-oh. No I'm-I'm sorry. I completely forgot I—"

"Relax, Luce! It's cool," he chuckled, "I've got basketball club now anyway. Don't worry about me."

"You play basketball?" She asked stupidly.

"Hmm? Yup!" He agreed, giving her a small wave as he started to turn. "You can watch me some time, but I think if you stay any longer than Laxus will come here and beat me up!"

"Huh?!" Lucy turned and flinched when she saw her cousin staring at them impatiently from the front window of his chevy. She gulped and started forward, waving towards Natsu. "I'd love to see you play some time. Sorry for keeping you."

"That's my line, Weirdo," he laughed, shaking his head. "I'm looking forward to it."

Lucy ignored the way his words made shivers go up her back and waved once again before entering the car. Her cousin didn't say anything as she buckled in, or even when they pulled out of the parking lot. Lucy used the time to take note of the turns they made. She wanted to be used to her new home as soon as she could. 

"Dump that thing out," Laxus commanded, dropping her backpack on the table in front of her. Lucy jumped at the thud the bag made as it connected with the wood and glanced at her cousin uncertainly.

"Why?" She questioned, slowly unzipping the top.

"Because you don't need half that crap and I'm sick of having to carry it around all day," he told her emotionlessly, settling down onto a chair and pulling out his own homework.

"You know you didn't have to carry it around with you. _You_ were the one who took it from me," Lucy reminded him.

"Did you think _you_ could carry it around?" He snorted. Lucy rolled her eyes with a sigh and began to pull out the multitude of colorful folders from the bag. She felt bad for disposing of the things that Mira so considerably got her, but she knew that there was no way she was going to be able to cart around that bag all day, and she couldn't rely on Laxus forever.

"Do you have a lot of problems with bars at school?" Lucy asked after a few minutes of silence. Laxus finished writing his sentence and looked up at her with eyes that clearly asked why she was bothering herself with this stuff. Lucy huffed out a breath of annoyance. "You do realize that I'm now going to this school, a member a Fairy Tail, your cousin, and grandpa's granddaughter? I think I should know what's going on."

"There's a lot you won't understand; there's stuff even I don't understand," he warned her. Lucy shrugged and the blonde sighed in defeat. "Well most of the fights tend to happen at the school, but Magnolia high is a combination of the more... _agreeable_ , bars in the area. There's another high school nearby thats full of troubled students. The whole school causes us problems; bar members or no."

"Balam high, right?" Lucy murmured, tapping her chin. Laxus coughed in surprise.

"How do you know that?" He asked, eyes narrowing. "You didn't run into anyone right?"

"No, no," she sighed and waved her hands. "You're such a worrywart, Lax. Natsu told me about it."

"I'm going to end that boy," Laxus growled, his face darkening and Lucy swore she could see a dark aura going from his back. She swallowed and jumped up quickly, shaking her head.

"No! I mean, yes, he told me about it, but he already made it clear that I'm not allowed to go there. He said I can only go there if I have you or him with me," she insisted desperately. Laxus was silent for a moment before he let out a long breath and his darkness seemed to seep away.

"I'm correcting that statement. You're only allowed to go to Balam High if you have me or Erza with you, understood?" He gave her a steely look, his face serious. "No other exceptions."

"Why Erza? Why is it that you don't trust Natsu?" Lucy frowned, crossing her arms. She didn't know why her cousin was so against her being with the pink haired boy. Sure, he could be violent, but it'd already been made clear that he had no intention of hurting Lucy. Besides that, Natsu was strong and determined to keep her safe. She didn't understand why her cousin was so desperate to keep her away from someone who so obviously wasn't going to cause her harm.

"It's not that I don't trust the idiot," Laxus began, rubbing his face tiredly. "It's that I don't trust him not to bring in trouble. He likes attention; he's a fool for the spotlight, and he attracts it like a magnet. He's no good for you to be around."

"...Alright," Lucy agreed reluctantly. "But that doesn't mean I'm staying away from him. You've already agreed to let him teach me and I want to be friends with him. I like him."

"You like to make dangerous friends," Laxus sighed.

"Don't you remember; everyone from Fairy Tail is dangerous," she joked lightly. Laxus looked at her before shaking his head.

"I'm going to correct that statement as well; everyone from this town is dangerous."

"I'll remember that," Lucy promised, sitting down.

"You better." 

It was later into the evening—just as the sky was changing from blue to rosy pink—when Lucy got a text. She was sitting outside on the porch swing, enjoying a glass of tea, and nearly spilled the thing on herself when her phone suddenly went off.

"Shit," Lucy hissed, rubbing at the dark stain the spilled tea left on the swing. She knew it'd dry clean, but the thought that she'd already ruined her Grandpa's furniture made her feel guilty. Three days and already she was staining them.

She sighed when her antics became futile and decided to leave it to nature. She turned instead and grabbed her phone, opening it to see who the message was from.

Lucy had gotten quite a few numbers over that past few days. She had Erza, Mira, Laxus—of course—,Lisanna, Kina, and even Gray. The number on her phone however was unknown. The sender was clear after reading it.

 _Wanna come meet the fam?_

The message was simple and confusing, but Lucy could tell it was Natsu right away. She smiled down and quickly added him into her contacts, just for future reference. Instead of answering back, she stood up and turned towards her neighbors house. She couldn't see him from her position, but she was sure he was watching.

Laxus had left an hour earlier to go meet her Grandpa at Fairy Tail. He'd offered to take her along—demanded was more like it—but she had refused under presences of being tired. She hadn't been lying either; a full day of school and learning had left her exhausted, but for some reason the thought of seeing Natsu perked her up. Really, just the thought _of_ Natsu set her nerves on end.

Considering there was no one home to miss her presence, Lucy ducked inside and grabbed her keys, locking the door behind her as she exited. She climbed down the porch steps and followed the path to the sidewalk. She glanced at Natsu's house, noticed the silver car in the driveway, and thought she saw something move from the corner of her eye. She looked and saw the curtain move, as if someone had been peering out. She couldn't help the small smile that rose to her face.

Lucy slipped past the silver toyota and jumped up the steps of Natsu's porch. She had just pressed the doorbell when the door swung open. Lucy smiled, expecting Natsu, but was surprised to see a little girl in front of her instead.

"Oh, hello," she said lamely, her cheeks heating embarrassedly. Why was she so sure that it had been Natsu watching out for her, ready to greet her as soon as she arrived. Thinking back on it made her feel stupid and frankly it'd be a bit creepy. "Who are you?"

"You're Luce, right?" The girl asked, ignoring her question. Lucy frowned and studied the girl carefully. She was sure this had to be Natsu's little sister—Wendy, she remembered—but the girl looked nothing like her brother at all. She was all skin and bones, pale white skin, long dark blue hair, and giant brown eyes that reminded Lucy startlingly of puppies. Overall she was just one big bundle of adorable. Quite the opposite of her strawberry-haired brother.

"Uh, yeah, thats me?" Lucy replied uncertainly. Had the girl said 'Luce'? Hadn't Natsu called her that earlier?

"Wow!" The girl gushed, undeterred. Her eyes seemed to sparkle in the light. "You're even prettier than I thought!" She reached forward, grabbing Lucy's hands tightly. Her expression suddenly turned serious. "Is my brother threatening you or something? Is that why you're hanging out with him? It's okay, I can help you."

"W-what?" Lucy stammered, confused.

"All right thats enough!" Natsu suddenly appeared, grabbing the girl by the shoulder and pulling her backwards. Wendy's grip on her hands slipped away, as did the serious expression she wore as she burst into giggles.

"I can't believe this is your friend, Nats! She's _waaaaay_ prettier than you said she was!" Wendy cheered, smiling innocently. Natsu's face twitched at the nickname, but his whole body seemed to freeze when Wendy finished. Lucy also felt herself stiffen.

"Seriously Wen, don't you have homework to do?" Natsu grumbled, pushing the blue haired girl back into the house. Wendy let out a protest, but Natsu cut her off as he stepped out onto the porch, slamming the door behind him. It was silent for a long moment, the two of them awkwardly standing in front of his door.

"Uh, sorry about her," Natsu started, stepping back and leaning against the wall. "She gets excited around new people."

"I take it that's Wendy?" Lucy asked, glancing at him. His hair was wet—from a shower, no doubt—and spiked in all different ways, as if he'd run a towel through it really quickly. Said towel was wrapped around his neck, preventing his shirt from getting wet. The sunset was also creating a glow around his head, making him look even more unreal. Lucy felt her heart speed up.

"Unfortunately," Natsu confirmed, running a hand through his hair. "Ignore her please. I'm pretty sure it's her life goal to make mine miserable."

"She seems sweet," Lucy fought. She smirked. "Besides, I'd love to hear all the embarrassing things she knows about you."

"Oh no, you don't," Natsu assured her, shaking his head. Lucy smelled the strong scent of cinnamon again. She wondered if it was natural or some sort of cologne.

"So," she said awkwardly. She motioned to the porch. "Are we going to be spending the rest of the night out here or what?"

"Well, we _could_ ," Natsu smirked. Lucy ignored the butterflies, giving him an unconvinced glare. He relented with a sigh. "Fine, fine. I guess you'll meet them sooner or later."

"May I remind you that you're the one who asked me to come over?" She giggled, following him as he opened the door. He held it open for her, and she carefully ducked under his arm.

"May _I_ remind _you_ that you're the one who wanted to meet my crazy family?" He returned, shutting the door behind her. He bumped it with his hand to make sure it was firmly closed and followed after her. The hallway was just as Lucy remembered it from her quick glances. The only difference was the smell of chicken in the air.

"Touché," Lucy agreed, sliding off her shoes. Natsu smiled at her and grabbed her arm after she was done. She squeaked as he dragged her through the hall, past his living room, and into the kitchen.

"Just as you remember it, right?" He asked, releasing her and leaning against the counter. The kitchen still had the same yellow wallpaper and white tiled floor, but everything was cleaned and practically sparkling under the florescent light. "Did it all myself."

"Wow," she said, gazing around with wide eyes. "I have trouble believing that you did this."

"Good, because he didn't."

Lucy jumped and even Natsu mumbled out a soft exclamation. She whipped around and spotted a young woman in the doorway, smiling. She looked exactly like Wendy, from the blue hair all the way to the big dark eyes. Hers looked less puppyish though; more experienced. They didn't carry the same innocence as Wendy's.

"Mom," Natsu recovered quickly, moving forward. He grabbed his Mom's arm gently and turned towards Lucy. "This is Lucy. She's Gramps's granddaughter."

"How many times have I told you to call him Mr. Marakov?" The woman lectured, slapping Natsu's hand away. He backed up quickly. Lucy had to fight the urge to laugh. "It's impolite to talk about your elders in such a way. Why, I should give you a smacking young man."

"Sorry, Ma'am," he replied sullenly, bowing his head. Lucy thought he looked like a child, and he was getting scolded like one too. She was unable to keep a small giggle from escaping her mouth. Grandeeney picked up on it quickly, her head snapping towards Lucy as if this were the first time noticing her. Her eyes narrowed as she scanned Lucy. Lucy felt herself go stiff under the critical gaze.

"My, Natsu," Grandeeney sighed, folding her arms. "Who'd ever thought you would reel in such a pretty one."

" _Mom_!" Natsu whined, looking more annoyed than embarrassed. Lucy, on the other hand, felt her face heat up. She was sure she looked like a tomato. "Lucy is just a friend! I only met her the other day."

"Romeo and Juliet only knew each other a day," she reminded him proudly. Natsu looked horrified.

"Romeo and Juliet also died," Lucy cut in. They both looked at her. She felt suddenly bad for saying anything, but a moment later Grandeeney gave her a bright smile.

"That they did," she agreed happily. Lucy glanced at Natsu for help but he looked resigned. "What did you say your name was, Dear?"

Lucy straightened up. "My name is Lucy Heartfilia. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Dragneel."

Grandeeney stared at her for a moment before smiling even larger. "Marakov's granddaughter, hmm? I'm happy to say that the pleasure is mine, Dear."

"I thought we're supposed to address our elders with respect?" Natsu asked with a smile.

"Stop being such a smart-ass and go check on the chicken," Grandeeney dead-panned. Natsu sighed, nodding his head and walking toward the stove with his head held low. Lucy giggled under her breath and Grandeeney looked at her. Her gaze was softer than before, almost kind. "You came from Crocus, isn't that right?"

"Yes, I only arrived here three days ago," Lucy agreed, sighing. "It feels like months."

"Time moves quickly here," Grandeeney agreed, and Lucy thought there was an almost sad tone in her voice. She wanted to ask what she meant, but at that moment Natsu yelled and the smoke detector went off.

"Shit!" Lucy heard Natsu and turned to watch as he pulled open the oven. Black smoke billowed out, filling the air and she coughed, turning away.

"Bloody hell," Grandeeney sighed, moving towards the source of the black smoke. "Honestly Natsu, why can't you just—Ah! No, put down the chicken! Put it down, put it down! You'll burn yourself! Natsu put the damned chicken down!" 

"I'm very sorry about all the commotion, Lucy," Grandeeney apologized again. "Usually we don't let Natsu near dinner since he has the, um...tendency to burn things." she cast an accusing glance at him over her shoulder. Natsu glared back. She was the one who asked him to check on the damn chicken! Why was she getting so pissed at him for?

"It's alright, really," Lucy assured her, smiling nervously. Natsu was afraid that just ten minutes among his family was already enough to scare her away. He wouldn't have blamed her; seventeen years with this family and he still wasn't used to it. Everyday seemed to hold some new adventure, both good and bad. Two days ago it had been tackling a pretty blonde stranger by mistake, and then befriending her—a pretty good thing in his opinion. Today it was nearly setting his house on fire while introducing her to his family—not so good.

"You wouldn't mind staying, would you? We can order some Chinese. I hate the thought of sending you back to Marakov on an empty stomach." Natsu knew she really didn't care that Lucy didn't get to eat—she sent him off to school with half a granola bar plenty of times—but something told him she really did care if Lucy left. Natsu didn't know what had happened when he'd been checking on the chicken, but something had changed in the time he'd been gone. His mother had seemed hesitant to meet Lucy earlier, and even more so after actually _meeting_ her, but suddenly she didn't want her leave? Girls made no sense to him at all. All he knew was that for some magical reason his Mom liked Lucy, and for that he was thankful. He just wondered how Lucy felt about his mom.

For a moment, Natsu was afraid she was going to deny, but then Lucy smiled. It was the same smile she'd given him in the kitchen after she first met him. He remembered thinking that as long as she was smiling like that, then everything was all right. It was the first time he'd noticed how pretty she really was.

"I'm sure that'd be fine. Thank you," she said. Grandeeney seemed caught off guard. She stared at Lucy blankly before nodding and turning away. Lucy stared after her uncertainly and Natsu pushed off the wall, walking toward her.

"Hey, I'm sorry about earlier," he apologized, touching her shoulder gently. She turned toward him with the same smile, reassuring him without saying anything.

"There's really nothing to apologize for," she informed him.

"That smoke nearly killed you," he told her.

"Like you had anything to do with the smoke," she brushed his concern away.

"I caused it!"

"No, the chicken caused it," she corrected with a shake of her head. "What a rotten chicken."

Natsu stared at her for a long moment. She stared back stoically, her face serious and unwavering. After a moment he couldn't take it anymore and began laughing. Lucy jumped in surprise as he bent forward, clutching his stomach, chuckling.

"What's so funny?" she demanded, crossing her arms and pouting. Natsu thought with distraction that she looked cute. He shook the thought off, straightening up.

"You are," he said, smiling. Lucy frowned. "You're such a crazy person it's amazing!"

"I'm not sure how to take that," she admitted uncertainly.

"Compliment," he said, rubbing his eyes. "It was a compliment."

"Ah! Natsu!" Lucy suddenly exclaimed, leaning forward and grabbing his hand. He startled as her soft fingers wrapped around his wrist, turning it palm-side up. He noticed a moment too late what she was doing. By then she had already seen it and was staring, wide-eyed. "Natsu...did you _burn_ yourself?" Her eyes rose to meet his slowly, steadily.

"No," he dragged out, trying to pry his hand away. Her fingers were like vices, locked around him and unrelenting. He gave up after a moment, not wanting to hurt her.

"Natsu!" Lucy yelled, clenching his hand tighter. Natsu cringed as white hot pain shot up his arm. She released her grip quickly and frowned at his hand. "Come with me. Where's your medicine cabinet?"

"Luce seriously, it's fine," he tried. She looked horrified.

"You're burned Natsu! Nothing about that is _fine_ ," she put so much spite in the words that he felt himself cringe. Lucy didn't seem to notice, turning and running out of the room, calling for his mother.

Lucy returned a few minutes later, medicine bin in hand. "Sit down," she commanded, nodding her head towards the couch. Natsu sighed and sat down with a humph. Lucy ignored him and sat beside him, setting the box on the table. He kept silent as she pulled out different supplies.

"Alright," she said finally, picking up a bottle. "Hold out your hands." Natsu complied, bringing his hand up in front of her, palm down. He gave her a smile as she glared. She reached forward, jerking his hand upwards. Natsu hissed under his breath and caught a slight bit of regret in her brown eyes before she sprayed his hands.

The spray was cold and smelled like alcohol. It stung a little but he refused to say anything about it. It wasn't like Lucy could take away the pain and she looked angry enough as it was. He didn't know why she was angry; it was only a burn, not a stab wound.

"Aren't I supposed to run it under cold water?" He asked her as she set the bottle down and pulled out a tube of cream. She smeared it on the red parts of his hands, carefully. It was even colder than the spray, but it countered the heat racing under his skin.

"You're supposed to do that to get the heat out of the burn, but it doesn't work unless you do it right away," she gave him a pointed look.

"I'm sorry that my kitchen caught on fire and I was more concerned about you than my hands," he dead-panned. Lucy blinked at him in shock. Her face turned red and she quickly turned away, grabbing the bandages.

It was true. Natsu had gotten burned before, and he knew well enough that cold water was the first thing you wanted to get to. So he didn't understand why Lucy had been the only thing on his mind. His body had reacted even faster; by the time he realized he had burned himself, he'd already had Lucy's arm and was dragging her from the room.

"You don't have to worry about me," she said quietly, placing the wrap between his thumb and first finger. Natsu looked up at her curiously but her eyes were trained on her work. "I'm a big girl, I can deal with a little fire."

"And didn't I say I'd protect you?" He said, then froze. Lucy also froze, looking up at him with wide eyes and parted lips. He hadn't meant to say that, not at all. "I mean I promised Laxus I'd protect you, you know?"

"Uh, yeah," she breathed out. She smiled quickly, ducking her head and turning back to wrapping his hands. Natsu had to fight the urge to smash his head into the table. Lucy tended to make him feel like doing that a lot lately.

They sat in silence until Lucy finished tying up the last bandage. "All done!" She proclaimed happily, pulling her hands away.

"Thanks Luce," he sighed, standing up.

"No problem! Just don't do it again," she insisted.

"I have a tendency to get burned," he warned her. She rolled her eyes, standing up as well.

"I _mean_ don't ignore your injuries. I won't fix you again if you do," she warned, narrowing her eyes.

"Are you my personal nurse?" He joked. Lucy seemed to take it seriously, eyeing him.

"Well I'm not that great with medicine, but feel free to come to me whenever you get burned!" She said cheerfully. Natsu swallowed thickly.

"Thanks," he said, "I will."

Natsu suddenly felt very awkward. His hands were throbbing from the slowly ebbing heat and he could feel a sweat start at the back of his neck. His stomach twisted uncomfortably and he noticed just how much shorter Lucy was compared to him, how thinner and curvier. He shook his head quickly, ripping the thoughts away and locking them in the basement of his brain. There was no way they were gonna be Romeo and Juliet, he wouldn't allow it.

"Oh, that must be the food," Lucy said as the doorbell rang. "Come on, let's go grab it." She grabbed Natsu's hand carefully and began to drag him towards the door. He felt his cheeks heat up and was surprised to notice the throbbing had stopped.

It turned out Lucy could make the pain disappear after all.

 **Sorry it took sooooo long to finish, but here it is. A little cutesy chapter for you all to enjoy. I promise to update the next one quicker!**


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